Barry from 'The Goldbergs' will be on 'Schooled' this season, AJ Michalka says

ByJennifer Matarese KGO logo
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
AJ Michalka talks about playing Lainey in the 90s on 'Schooled'
Jennifer Matarese interviews Michalka about reprising her role on this spinoff.

NEW YORK -- Fast forward to 1990-something and Lainey Lewis from The Goldbergs is grown up -- or at least in the process of trying to be a grownup with a real job.

In the new ABC series Schooled, AJ Michalka reprises her role, though now Lainey is the new music teacher at William Penn Academy. Familiar faces from the original show, Coach Mellor (Bryan Callen) and Principal Glascott (Tim Meadows), help her find her way.

"Here she is back at her old high school and she's really just figuring things out as she goes along," Michalka told ABC ahead of Wednesday's new episode.

But there is one face that fans of The Goldbergs want to see, and that's Barry Goldberg (Troy Gentile)! The Barry and Lainey storyline was heartbreaking to see end in the 1980s, but that doesn't mean things couldn't rekindle in the '90s.

There could be a new love interest in the way, though.

"There will be a moment for her to get romantically interested in someone else besides who she was with years ago, which obviously was Barry," she said.

So will their love survive the test of time, or are Lainey and Barry better off as friends? One thing is for sure, we'll be seeing "Big Tasty" this season!

"It's definitely going to happen this season, I can't say when or even which episode necessarily, but we are going to see Barry come back into Lainey's life," Michalka said. "I'm really excited for that because I think the Barry/Lainey dynamic is super sweet and it was really touching to see all the comments on Twitter and Facebook."

Also fun to see in this new spinoff series, the 1990s fashion! Just like we saw the '80s hair and clothing styles in the original, the '90s had its own special blend of grunge and school-girl high-fashion like in Clueless.

"I love it too," Michalka said. "Our costumer (Keri Smith) is amazing, and she's actually our head costumer on both shows, which is insane! I don't know how she does it."

Don't miss Schooled on Wednesdays at 8:30 pm. ET | 7:30 p.m. CT after The Goldbergs on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.