The Goldbergs is Basically Moone Boy in America. Prove me wrong.
Two shows about young boys growing up in the 1980s came out in the 2010s.
Moone Boy was a sitcom about a pre-teen boy with three older siblings growing up in the 1980s in Boyle, a real a small town in Ireland. It was semi‑autobiographical of creator Chris O’Dowd’s childhood and featured many pop culture references from the time period. It ran for three seasons from 2012 to 2015.
The Goldbergs was a sitcom about a pre-teen boy with two older siblings growing up in the 1980s in Jenkintown, a real suburban town in Pennsylvania. It was semi‑autobiographical of creator Adam F. Goldberg’s childhood and featured many pop culture references from the time period. It ran for 10 seasons from 2013 to 2023.
And the similarities don’t end there. Here’s why The Goldbergs is basically Moone Boy in America…
Characters
Main Characters
Martin Moone (David Rawle) & Adam Goldberg (Sean Giambrone)
Both are 12 years old at the beginning of the series.
Both are the youngest in their families (Martin has three older sisters; Adam has an older brother and an older sister).
Both are somewhat nerdy and occasionally bullied at school.
Both regularly say, “Oh, balls.”
Narrators
Moone Boy: Narrated by Chris O’Dowd as Sean Murphy, Martin’s imaginary friend.
The Goldbergs: Narrated by Patton Oswalt as adult Adam.
Temporary Girlfriends
Both Martin and Adam had ginger girlfriends who rarely smiled and had to move away. Also, the actors who played them look alike.
Moone Boy: Majella (Jessica Barrett) was a traveler who disappeared one day when her family’s caravan moved on.
The Goldbergs: Dana Caldwell (Natalie Alyn Lind) had to move to Seattle because her father got a job there.
Families
Both Martin and Adam grew up in loud, wacky families that included older siblings, an uncle, and at least one grandfather.
Annoying Siblings
Two or three older siblings who fight with and pick on the main character.
Moone Boy: Fidelma (Clare Monnelly), Trisha (Aoife Duffin), and Sinéad (Sarah White)
The Goldbergs: Erica (Hayley Orrantia) and Barry (Troy Gentile)
Black Sheep Uncles
Fun but irresponsible uncle who can’t keep a job, pretends to be something he’s not, and only shows up for special occasions (aka Dad’s black sheep brother).
Moone Boy: Uncle Danny Moone (Steve Wall) was a musician who told stories of being on the road, but his reality was a lot more mundane. He popped up randomly once, and after that he only appeared at weddings and funerals.
The Goldbergs: Uncle Marvin Goldberg (Dan Fogler) had a different job every year, and he was never doing as well as he claimed. He only came over for Thanksgiving.
Grumpy Grandfathers
Angry grandpa they hardly ever see.
Moone Boy: Grandad Joe Moone (Tom Hickey) lived in a nursing home and didn’t like to be bothered by his relatives.
The Goldbergs: Ben “Pop-pop” Goldberg (Judd Hirsch & Paul Sorvino [one episode]) lived nearby but never visited, and the few times he did, he was miserable.
Episodes
Both shows featured similar episode plots and themes. This is just a small sampling of them.
Study Sabotage
One or more parent tries to sabotage their daughter’s studying for selfish reasons.
Moone Boy season 1, episode 6, “The Bell-end of an Era” (2012): Debra and Liam accidentally promised Sinéad she could go to “Girl Guide” summer camp if she came in first in her class, and they don’t want to pay for it.
The Goldbergs season 1, episode 17, “Lame Gretzky” (2014): Beverly doesn’t want Erica to get a high score on her SATs and go to Stanford because it’s on the other side of the country.
America’s Funniest Home Videos
The main character and one other character make a video of someone in their family getting hurt and send it to a show that features these types of home videos.
Moone Boy season 3, episode 3, “Fecks, Lies and Videotape” (2015): Martin and Padraic attempt to stage a funny “accident” to send to “You’ve Been Framed to Look Like a Big Feckin’ Eejit” and end up sending in a tape of Dessie getting attacked by a bat, and it becomes one of the show’s three videos.
The Goldbergs season 2, episode 20, “Just Say No” (2015): Barry asks Adam to help him make an audition tape for American Gladiators, but Adam sends it to America’s Funniest Home Videos instead, and it’s featured on the show.
Mood Intervention
A group of characters hold an intervention for a character who hasn’t been themself lately.
Moone Boy season 3, episode 2, “The Plunder Years” (2015): Padraic is going through a rough time, and it makes his imaginary friend, Crunchie, act like a sad sack, so the other imaginary friends get together and hold an intervention for him.
The Goldbergs season 4, episode 13, “Agassi” (2017): Erica has been depressed since she realized she’s in love with Geoff now that he has a girlfriend, so the family holds an intervention for her.
Election Mom
The main character’s mom passionately campaigns for a presidential candidate.
Moone Boy season 1, episode 2, “Bunch of Marys” (2012): Debra and her friends are excited that a woman, Mary Robinson, is running for president, so they launch a grassroots campaign for her. They want to make Mary posters and plaster them around town, but they’re low on funds, so they have to court the richest man in town—a known pervert—for a campaign donation.
The Goldbergs season 2, episode 20, “Just Say No” (2015): Erica tries to get Beverly interested in the upcoming presidential election so she can cast an informed vote, but it backfires when Beverly becomes obsessed with Nancy Reagan and joins Murray in campaigning for Ronald.
The Berlin Wall
A character is inspired by watching the Berlin Wall come down. Includes footage of David Hasselhoff singing on top of the wall.
Moone Boy season 1, episode 3, “Another Prick in the Wall” (2012): After watching the Berlin Wall get knocked down, Martin gets the idea to knock down part of the wall in his backyard to create a shortcut to school.
The Goldbergs season 2, episode 17, “The Adam Bomb” (2015): Watching the Berlin Wall get knocked down inspires Barry to end a personal property destruction war with Adam.