Seriously? OMG! WTF?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptl2P2RU0vE
The Goldbergs is in its third season and can you believe they haven’t done a Chanukah episode until tonight at 8:30p on ABC? That’s right, television’s favorite Jewish family is finally going to celebrate the Festival of Lights in their own special way.
Recently, I visited the set when they were filming this episode and Wendi McLendon-Covey, who plays Beverly, described it as, “Bev has the assumption that they (her best friends and neighbors across the street) are really good at family. The reason, they are good at it, is because they celebrate Christmas. This is such a wonderful thing that they pile so much into one night. We need to do that too.”
So how does sMother Goldberg feel about finally doing a Chanukah episode? She said, “It is thrilling for us because we finally get to acknowledge that we are Jewish. I don’t know why we haven’t done one until now, but it is so fun.” Then she explained, “Because we’ve done Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving is always a big deal. Halloween is always a big deal. Now we really get to delve into the Christmas/Chanukah situation.” Then she told us she is excited for this “very ambitious episode” because there is a lot to cover. What that means, she didn’t elaborate, but she did reiterate that she is thrilled for tonight’s show.
She isn’t the only one on the family sitcom who feels this way. Hayley Orrantia and Troy Gentile, who play her kids Erica and Barry, also like that their characters are revealing who they are. Gentile said, “It finally puts out there that The Goldbergs are a Jewish family. No more questions on that.” Then he informed us, “It is a Christmas/Chanukah episode. It actually has both elements to it, so everyone can relate to it.”
Can the actors, who celebrate Christmas, relate to it? For Orrantia, this is the first time she celebrated it. What did she learn from it? She said, “That’s the funny part, in this episode we kind of play on things that aren’t actually celebrated with Chanukah. So I don’t think I learned anything about Chanukah so far.” Then Gentile chimed in and said, “I used to play Dreidel!”
This season Barry has got to play with a girlfriend and AJ Michalka, who plays that role had a different take on it. She told us, “I think for Lainey, not growing up, I am assuming not in a very religious home, since she hasn’t had her mom around since she was 12, for her this really feels like a family moment.” Then she related it to her own personal experience, “For me, it reminds me of the Thanksgiving that I have with friends who don’t necessarily have family here. So it is like she is being adopted in the same way we do for them. We do a Friendgiving, and she is having that with The Goldbergs, which is a special moment for her. I’m loving it.”
I am sure we are going to be loving tonight’s Chanukah themed episode of The Goldbergs, so tune into watch it tonight at 8:30p on ABC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fnlucr_opM
Tonight at 8:30p on ABC’s The Goldbergs, it is time for their annual Halloween Spooktacular episode.
Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) can’t wait to dress up in a couples costume with her youngest son Adam (Sean Giambrone), but when he decides he wants to do that with his girlfriend Dana (who is back in town), she loses it. McLendon-Covey describes it as, “Beverly turns into every horrible thing that she has warned the whole neighborhood about. Like someone who steals candy, someone who puts razor blades in candy. To show how easy it is for a lunatic to do that.” Then she added, “She turns into everything that she has warned everybody about with hilarious results.” She is not kidding about the hilarious results. I had tears in my eyes from laughter watching how crazy she gets to prove to Adam how dangerous Halloween can be. Then it backfires when all of the other kids feel her wrath. Has she gone too far this time? This might be her point of no return.
While Beverly was doing all of that to scare her son, there was something even scarier out there for her three children. Erica (Hayley Orrantia), Barry (Troy Gentile) and Adam with his girlfriend (Natalie Alyn Lind) go to the neighborhood Haunted House. It is so terrifying; they will all want their mother to save them. But they will never tell her that. Or will they?
Tonight’s episode is most definitely their biggest Halloween treat yet. In fact, it might be one of their best episodes so far.
Talking about great episodes. Coming up later this season, The Goldbergs finally get a Chanukah episode. Last week, when I was on the set of the hit sitcom, McLendon-Covey talked about what it means to her. She said, “It’s thrilling for us because we finally get to acknowledge that we are Jewish. I don’t know why we haven’t done one until now.” I think we all feel that way, but then again they say good things come to those who wait. Something really good is coming our way because we waited.What are we waiting for? McLendon-Covey teased us with a little preview of the episode. She revealed that when Beverly sees her best friend across the street celebrating Christmas like a loving a family, she wants to do the same. She explained that, “Bev has the assumption that they are really good at family. The reason they are good at it, is because they celebrate Christmas. This such a wonderful thing that they pile so much into one night. We need to do that too.” What she does next is a Chanukah miracle. The biggest one since, well Chanukah.
One last thing, we know that Beverly Goldberg is based on Adam Goldberg’s real mother. The real Beverly Goldberg has been to the set and has she weighed in on McLendon-Covey’s portrayal of her? The actress told me that she hasn’t said anything about her acting, so she’s “taking that to mean she likes it because she would weigh in.” If she is anything like how her son Adam has written her, she would. That is why we love her and McLendon-Covey as her.
Tune in tonight and every Wednesday as Adam Goldberg brings his loving childhood to the small screen with a show that just pure joy. Also to see McLendon-Covey play the best sMother on television. Her performance makes this show, just like moms make the family!

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