42 Febraury 14 • 2019
jn

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

tv
arts&life

S

ome Michigan men with grown 
children could very well be 
reminded of the kind of friendship 
group they shared in their younger 
years as they watch an upcoming epi-
sode of The Goldbergs. 
Bruce Kaczander will definitely be 
one of them.
His grown son, Aaron Kaczander, a 
writer and co-producer for the ABC sit-
com, has taken elements from his dad’
s 
stories of fun experiences with lasting 
buddies and added them to the mix as 
writers were working on a related fic-
tional episode.
Tentatively titled “The Highlander 
Club,” the episode airs at 8 p.m. 
Wednesday, Feb. 20.
“My dad’
s group of guys called 
themselves The Jokers,” explains Aaron 
Kaczander, who has worked on the 
series since its pilot episode and has 
been employed by its creator, Adam 
Goldberg, for nine years. “I heard about 
The Jokers here and there. Adam’
s dad 
had a similar group that he heard about.
“The idea behind the episode is that 
one son, Barry, has this really close-knit 
group of friends who have been char-
acters on the show for five years, and 
they’
re really funny together.
“Barry is going to be graduating, and 
the prospect makes him wonder if he’
s 
going to lose his best friends because 
they’
re all going to different colleges. 
Barry discovers that his dad had an old 

group of friends, much like my dad 
did, and he thinks if he gets them back 
together for great times, then there’
s 
much more of a chance they’
ll stay 
together.”
The series, set in Pennsylvania, is 
narrated by a grown son remembering 
his family during the 1980s. The family 
is recalled through videotapes the son 
made as a youngster.
“I’
m a very nostalgic person,” says 
Kaczander, 35, who grew up in West 
Bloomfield, graduated from Groves 
High School, attended Temple Beth El 
and spent summers at Camp Tanuga in 
Kalkaska. “I was born in the 1980s, but 
I wouldn’
t necessarily consider it my 
decade. 
“I love the idea of one person talking 
about his childhood and watching him-
self grow up through videotapes. I just 
love that we can have fun and do lots of 
jokes in episodes that also end with a 
lot of heart. I think that’
s really import-
ant. I love coming to work and joking 
around.”
Achieving this work goal followed 
a longtime interest in television and 
comedy. At the University of Michigan, 
Kaczander had a double major in 
English and film and a minor in screen-
writing. 
After accepting temporary jobs for 
film festivals in Utah and New York, 
Kaczander decided to seek opportuni-
ties in California.

FINDING OPPORTUNITIES
“When I moved to Los Angeles in 
2007, it was the beginning of the writ-
ers’
 strike to make sure they could be 
properly compensated for streaming 
services like Netflix and Hulu that are 
so huge today,” Kaczander recalls. 
“It was pretty ironic because I moved 
right down the street from where all 
these writers were picketing. I used that 
as an opportunity to meet them.
“I picked up a picket sign and started 
talking. Through that, I got my first 
internship for Scott Free Productions 
started by Ridley Scott. I met a few 
more people, and a friend pointed me 
toward a job at a literary agency, where 
I got a real crash course in how agents 
work and how the business side of TV 
works — all the time knowing I still 
wanted to be a writer.”
While taking improv and sketch 
classes with the Upright Citizens 
Brigade comedy troupe, Kaczander 
moved on to become a production 
assistant for Sean Smith, who created a 
show called Greek for the ABC Family 
Network. Next came working his way 
up for Adam Goldberg.
“We don’
t go out of our way for 
specifically Jewish storylines on The 
Goldbergs, but viewers might find a 
Jewish tone in the show,” Kaczander 
says. “The grandfather character, 
played by George Segal, uses Yiddish 
words.” 

Kaczander also brought his own 
experiences into a Chanukah episode 
with a suggested scene related to his 
Michigan years. It has to do with a 
game of pennies, Chanukah gelt, played 
at holiday gatherings attended by 
Kaczander family friends. 
“The episode was about Beverly 
Goldberg desperately trying to keep 
her son celebrating Chanukah even 
though he is going to marry someone 
who is not Jewish,” Kaczander explains. 
“She does everything she can to make 
him continue to celebrate the holiday, 
and he assures her he will do that while 
starting his own traditions.”
Besides impacting Kaczander’
s pro-
fessional life, The Goldbergs has had a 
strong impact on his personal life.
“I have Adam Goldberg to thank not 
only for this part of my career, but also 
for meeting my wife, too,” says the writ-
er/co-producer who visits family and 
friends in Michigan about three times a 
year and has built a collection of Piston 
T-shirts. “I met Maggie Lyons while 
working on the pilot for the series, and 
we were married last October.” ■

The Goldbergs writer Aaron Kaczander uses
his dad’
s experiences for Feb. 20 episode.

Close
 toHome

AARON KACZANDER/ABC

Aaron Kaczander in 

the kitchen on set for 

The Goldbergs, for 

which he is a writer 

and co-producer

Details 

The Goldbergs airs at 8 p.m. 
Wednesdays on ABC.

