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As "The Goldbergs" ends its 10-season run, Hayley Orrantia is saying goodbye to a family in multiple ways.
The actress-singer has had that relationship with many of the cast and crew members on the ABC sitcom based on the 1980s family life and experiences of creator and executive producer Adam F. Goldberg. The airing of the show's finale Wednesday, May 3, means Orrantia's farewell to the role of bright and caustic Erica Goldberg … who's now a wife and mother, expanding the character whom Adam based on his brother Eric.
"It was a very sad day, to say the least," Orrantia recalls of finishing filming on "The Goldbergs" in February, "but I'm glad that we were able to be together. A bunch of the producers and the crew from the office upstairs, who we didn't really get to see that often, came down for the final show. It was emotional. I think this is really going to set in in August, when we would typically start filming the next season."
Known for its parodies of well-known movies prompted by the video-camera-devoted Adam (played by Sean Giambrone), "The Goldbergs" -- which also stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Troy Gentile, Sam Lerner (as Erica's husband Geoff) and Patton Oswalt (narrating as the adult Adam) -- has welcomed such pop-culture staples as Charlie Sheen, Christie Brinkley, David Hasselhoff and Rick Springfield. George Segal ("such a light," says Orrantia) played "Pops" on the show until his death in 2021; Jeff Garlin appeared as Goldberg patriarch Murray through Season 9.
Now, after a decade of steady work, Orrantia isn't sure which direction she'll take … and she doesn't mind, citing her "many passion projects, music and acting included. When it comes to music, I'm allowing myself the freedom to take my time for the first time. I was always trying to squeeze that time in and rush to put things out and keep the momentum going, but now, I'm excited to craft a sound that feels authentic to me." (Orrantia was the runner-up on Season 7 of Fox's "The Masked Singer" last year.)
While she also hopes to "expand my acting a little bit with other genres, and just challenge myself" going forward, Orrantia regards her tenure on "The Goldbergs" with great satisfaction.
"Ten years is not something any of us could have anticipated," she reflects, "so we're incredibly grateful for all that time we had together. I don't know what show you would imagine would go on for another 10 years, so in a way, we were expecting (this to end) … but I know the only way I'll work with these people again is if we do another project together. We've had so much fun doing this."