Jacob Hopkins, Sean Giambrone
You've met The Goldbergs. Now get ready to meet the Kremps.
Tuesday's episode of the ABC comedy (9/8c) will introduce fans to the Kremps, the prim and proper — and quiet — neighbors of everyone's favorite super-loud family. And just like nearly everything about the retro series, the Kremps are based on actual people: They were creator Adam F. Goldberg's real-life neighbors growing up, and their son Chad is his BFF.
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"In real life, just by sheer chance, the Kremps had sons the same age as my brothers and me," Goldberg tells TVGuide.com. "So, regardless of differences, we were always destined to be close families."Though the Goldbergs and the Kremps hit it off right away in real life, the fictional families don't get off on the best foot. After the Kremps — including parents Charles (Tom Cavanagh
), Virginia (Jennifer Irwin
), and son Chad (Jacob Hopkins) — move in to the neighborhood, Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey
) insists on befriending them, which only puts off the prudish Kremps even more. "The Kremps were always more gentle and soft-spoken, and even had an intercom to keep from yelling up and down the stairs. All of that is true," Goldberg says. "The only major difference between the real and the TV version of the Kremps is that the TV version is much more uptight and stuffy."Not that the Kremps had a problem with that. After all, Goldberg would never do anything to "disparage the Kremp name.""I think the show makes our family out to be the polar opposite of the Goldbergs in good fun," Chad Kremp says. "That may be a bit exaggerated, but it definitely makes for great TV! My brother Drew was not that big of a jock and my mom was not as soft-spoken, but again, it fits into the story great and we are all very happy with how it turned out. I can't tell you how proud my family and I are of Adam with this show."He adds: "[When Goldberg] mentioned the Kremp episode, I was both excited and timid. Adam's got such a creative mind — who knows what he was going to come up with for us! But he did a great job of keeping it true to life and sending a nice message."
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Part of Virginia's issues with the Goldbergs in the episode stems from Chad hanging out with Adam (Sean Giambrone
) and her fear that his family's shrill ways would rub off on her son. That's not totally unlike what happened when the real Chad stayed with the Goldbergs one weekend at the beach."We went down there and all my family did was scream and yell at each other, and my dad called us morons," Goldberg says. "Then, when Chad went back home, he and his parents were going out somewhere and his mom asked him to put on his jacket because it was cold. Chad responded by telling her to leave him the hell alone. Mrs. Kremp sent Chad to his room and then wrote him a letter expressing her displeasure. A letter
. Expressing her displeasure
. The whole thing was just as funny to me then as it is now."While the Kremps are all played by actors, there are two real Kremp cameos of sorts. The family's flower shop, Kremp Florist
, in Willow Grove, Pa., is featured in the episode, and the real Chad Kremp appears in a bit part after the director suggested they include him."How cool is that? They cast me as Pat, the deli guy, and I actually get yelled at by Mrs. Kremp. [It was] another incredibly surreal experience," Kremp, who oversees sales and runs the website at Kremp Florist, says. "Everyone was extremely nice. I honestly never met a more fun, welcoming group of people. Adam is very lucky to have such awesome people in his crew and staff. When I first got there, I was constantly being introduced as 'THE Chad Kremp.' I knew I was going to Hollywood for the week, but I wasn't expecting to be treated like a star! I met a lot of very cool people and made some new friends."
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And will we see more of the Kremps in the future — especially now that the show has earned a full-season order
? "I'd love to bring them back," Goldberg says. "I think they're such a nice addition to the mix, because they're such polar opposites of the Goldbergs. But we'll have to see where the series takes us."If they do come back, Goldberg already has a plot in mind — one that, natch, is based on a true story."When Chad and I were in 7th grade, we wrote a full-length screenplay that was inspired by Back to the Future
about two best friends who build a time machine," he says. "It was called Only on Earth
and it was going to be epic. We were constantly building props and making costumes. Problem being — the script was so ambitious we just never could bring ourselves to actually shoot it. I would love for young Adam and Chad to do their own version of Back to the Future
airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on ABC. Check out an exclusive photo of Chad and Adam back in the day and behind-the-scenes photos of Chad's day on set below.