TV Guide Magazine Gets a Shout-Out on ‘The Goldbergs’

We’re ready for our close-up.

TV Guide Magazine will cameo on the September 30 episode of ABC’s The Goldbergs. “TV Guide Magazine was such a huge deal in my house when I was growing up. I remember so many times battling with my brother, Barry, over who got it first,” says creator Adam Goldberg, whose childhood serves as the basis for the ’80s-set sitcom. “We always knew we wanted to give it a shout-out.”

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Mission accomplished. The opportunity presents itself courtesy of—what else?—Adam’s (Sean Giambrone) raging hormones. “Puberty is hitting him hard,” Goldberg says, “and he’s suddenly noticing that every woman is attractive to him.” That includes daytime talk show staple Sally Jessy Raphael, gazing out soulfully from the magazine’s cover. Much to the annoyance of crotchety patriarch Murray (Jeff Garlin), the smitten middle schooler purloins the family’s communal issue. “Adam’s very drawn to Sally Jessy’s good looks and emotional intelligence,” Goldberg says with a laugh. “Murray does not get the magazine back.”

To bring the story to life in all its nostalgic glory, the team got our permission to make a faux issue, and then production designer Cory Lorenzen got to work. “Our goal is always to make things look real,” Lorenzen says. “We used the original size and dimensions of the real magazine and researched the graphic and photographic style used at the time.” The finished product was then presented to Goldberg. “They just nailed it,” he says. “Seeing it really brought me back to that time.” And there could be more sightings. “Now that we know TV Guide Magazine is willing to be on the show, we can constantly have it in the characters’ hands. It opens up a whole world of references.” Please hold for our agent!

The Goldbergs, Wednesdays, 8:30/7:30c, ABC