The Goldbergs Plans 'Huge Reboot' for New Season Without Jeff Garlin After On-Set Conduct Scandal

The Goldbergs

The Goldbergs has had to make big changes ahead of its 10th season.

The ABC sitcom will kill off patriarch Murray Goldberg after star Jeff Garlin exited the show last December amid allegations of inappropriate behavior on set. (The actor, 60, owned up to "silly" behavior in a conversation with Vanity Fair that same month, insisting he never meant to harm his colleagues and saying, "I'm sorry, I truly am sorry, to have hurt anyone's feelings, or made anyone feel greatly uncomfortable.")

"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 told Entertainment Weekly on Tuesday.

RELATED: Jeff Garlin Leaving The Goldbergs amid HR Investigation into Inappropriate On-Set Behavior

The loss of Murray will be balanced by new life as newlyweds Erica (Hayley Orrantia) and Geoff (Sam Lerner) will welcome their first child.

"So we're starting with optimism about a baby coming and looking forward to the future," Barnow continued. "It's an opportunity for this interesting emotional basis for the way people are behaving."

Co-showrunner Chris Bishop said the new season "feels like a huge reboot" with "tons of momentum."

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RELATED: The Goldbergs Star Wendi McLendon-Covey Addresses Jeff Garlin's Exit: 'We're Doing Our Best'

Bishop attributed the changes in the show partially to "new cast dynamics." The newborn storyline, he said, "will bring both the sense of joy to the show and shift dynamics and shift relationships. And putting Beverly [Wendi McLendon-Covey] in a position as a grandma is something that's obviously a fun and natural fit. So it's been a joy to break new stories of new dynamics amongst our characters."

Barnow and Bishop also teased a cameo by Baywatch alum David Hasselhoff. "We can't think of anybody more emblematic of [the '80s]," explained Barnow. "He's wearing the jacket, he's got the hair, he looks great. And we're using him in multiple episodes."

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During the interview, the showrunners also shared that Garlin has known he would not be replaced — but not much else. According to Barnow, "We haven't had a subsequent conversation since the beginning of writing that he would have any specific clarity on that."

RELATED: Jeff Garlin Speaks Out About the HR Investigations Over His 'Behavior' on The Goldbergs Set

When Garlin spoke to Vanity Fair in December, he explained his perspective: "I'm on a comedy show. I am always a kind and thoughtful person. I make mistakes, sure. But my comedy is about easing people's pain," he said. "Why would I ever want to cause pain in anybody for a laugh? That's bullying. That's just uncalled for."

Garlin did clarify that he had not been fired. "There has been an HR investigation on me the past three years. HR has come to me three years in a row for my behavior on set," he said.

The actor also addressed reports that he would touch and hug cast and crew members who did not want such contact.

"I gotta be honest with you. I am a person who hugs for sure," he said. "And it's quick hugs, but I didn't realize that anyone was feeling — so if you want to write that story, that's a true story. It puts the onus on them to say something, and I would gladly respect anyone who said, 'Please don't hug me. I don't feel comfortable.'"

Elsewhere in the interview, Garlin said, "I have a platform. I will continue to have a platform. So I'm not feeling like I'm silenced, and I'm also wanting to cooperate with the way Sony wants things done, because they're the boss. I get that. And I'm sorry, I truly am sorry, to have hurt anyone's feelings, or made anyone feel greatly uncomfortable. That's for sure."

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The Goldbergs premieres Sept. 21 at on ABC.