Jeff Garlin Cast in New TV Series After Controversial The Goldbergs Exit
Jeff Garlin has officially landed a new role in a television series, following his controversial exit from ABC's The Goldbergs late last year. According to new reports, Garlin has been cast in the fourth and final season of the Netflix sitcom Never Have I Ever. Garlin will reportedly portray Len, a sweet man who fixes a mean sandwich and who makes Devi's grandmother, Nirmala (Ranjita Chakravarty), reconsider if she really is done with relationships forever. This is Garlin's first casting since he exited his nine-season stint as Murray Goldberg on The Goldbergs, following an internal investigation into allegations of on-set misconduct.
Why did Jeff Garlin leave The Goldbergs?
In 2021, Sony Pictures Television's HR department conducted an investigation into Garland's behavior on the set of The Goldbergs, including reports that he would frequently use the word "vagina" to try and get a laugh out of the crew, which disturbed a camera assistant who then made a complaint to HR. According to a Deadline report, "After the actor found out, he reportedly put his hands around her and kept saying 'vagina' in her face over and over again." Garlin attempted to refuse reports of misconduct on his part, telling Vanity Fair: "I have my process about how I'm funny, in terms of the scene and what I have to do. They feel that it makes for a quote 'unsafe' workspace."
Following Garlin's exit, The Goldbergs decided to kill his character off entirely, after having written him out of previous episodes in other ways.
"This is going to be a family that has not reconciled the fact that their father's gone but has sort of moved on and has dealt with a lot of that," co-showrunner Alex Barnow said at the time. "So we're starting with optimism about a baby coming and looking forward to the future. It's an opportunity for this interesting emotional basis for the way people are behaving."
What is Never Have I Ever about?
Never Have I Ever first debuted in April 2020 and follows Indian American teenager Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) as she navigates the highs and lows of high school life. The series also stars Poorna Jagannathan, Richa Moorjani, Darren Barnet, Jaren Lewison, Ramona Young, Lee Rodriguez and John McEnroe.
What do you think of Jeff Garlin joining the cast of Never Have I Ever? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
h/t: Deadline