With an Infinite Number of Men Available, Why Did ‘Never Have I Ever’ Cast Jeff Garlin?

“Never have I ever cast an actor who’s been accused of harassment, became the subject of multiple HR investigations, and was prematurely killed off his last show” is a thing Never Have I Ever co-creators Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher can no longer say after casting Jeff Garlin on the fourth and final season of their Netflix series.

In Garlin’s first TV role since leaving his nine-season run as patriarch on The Goldbergs in December 2021, the 61-year-old actor joins the coming-of-age dramedy as Len, the “white boyfriend” of Devi’s (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) grandma Nirmala (Ranjita Chakravarty).

There’s no question that the Curb Your Enthusiasm star possesses the comedic chops and emotional range needed to successfully portray a charming man who excels at making sandwiches and snack trays, brags about his Yelp platinum status, cares for Kamala (Richa Moorjani) post-Lasik surgery, and also raises suspicions that he may be dating Nirmala for the wrong reasons. But with an infinite number of Hollywood men available, fans have to wonder why Never Have I Ever welcomed Garlin to set so soon after reports of problematic, harmful behavior.

For the uninitiated, Garlin exited The Goldbergs back in 2021 amidst an HR investigation into on-set misconduct allegations and was later written off of the show after reaching a “mutual agreement” post-Season 9 filming. In an interview with Vanity Fair the same year, the actor revealed that HR had come to him three years in a row about his behavior on set. “My opinion is, I have my process about how I’m funny, in terms of the scene and what I have to do. They feel that it makes for a quote ‘unsafe’ workspace,” Garlin said. “Now, mind you, my silliness making an unsafe workspace — I don’t understand how that is. And I’m on a comedy show. I am always a kind and thoughtful person.”

When the interviewer told Garlin that multiple people who worked with him “felt demeaned and disrespected” by his language and physical actions, the actor replied, “I gotta be honest with you. I don’t even know how to respond to that, because as a comedian, if somebody is offended by what I say I, all I can say is, I’m sorry. Okay?” And when pressed about the multiple HR investigations, Garlin said, “It’s always the same thing. It’s about me and my silliness on set. They don’t think it’s appropriate. I do. That’s where we’re at.” Later in the interview, he noted, “I don’t do general boundaries, except for common decency. Other than that, I don’t. I’m a comedian and I’m sorry, but boundaries are meant to be broken. That being said, if it’s really a personal situation, it needs to be taken care of, I agree with that.” 

After Vanity Fair‘s piece was published, several current (at the time) and former co-workers of Garlin’s reached out to Deadline under the promise of anonymity claiming the actor was “extremely verbally and emotionally abusive” and referencing specific incidents, including his repeated use of the word “vagina” on set and a time when he screamed at a stand-in. Then, in September 2022, when Garlin’s Goldbergs character was killed off the show, the actor shared his bipolar diagnosis on Instagram, writing, “Bipolar is a motherfucker. Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can. This the first time that I’ve opened up about this.”

Two months after Garlin’s reveal, Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s Susie Essman told Page Six, “He’s working very hard. He’s on his meds, and he’s working in therapy, and he’s working hard to manage it.” Then in October 2022, Garlin told WGN Morning News, “I was suicidal, last year. Not this year, this year no suicidal thoughts. My mental health — I’ve worked hard since December. At one point, I was having therapy seven times a week — different types of therapy. Now, I’m down to three and I’m excited.” Shortly afterwards, his Never Have I Ever casting was announced.

Second chances are understandable when earned, but even after Garlin left The Goldbergs and opened up about his mental health, former co-stars including Wendi McLendon-Covey continued to speak out about the impacts of his inappropriate behavior on set. In March 2023, McLendon-Covey told Andy Cohen that Garlin’s death in the show was “a long time coming,” and that when it finally happened “it was like, ‘OK, OK. Finally, someone is listening to us.'” And on June 6, two days before Never Have I Ever Season 4’s premiere, People revealed that Maureen Ryan’s new book, Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood, calls out Garlin’s “harassing, disparaging or physically problematic,”  behavior even further, claiming that the actor was also investigated by HBO for behavior on the set of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and that there was at least one legal settlement with Garlin and a former Curb employee as a result of his actions.

So why, out of all the Hollywood actors in or around their sixties who could have easily brought Len to screen in a way that wouldn’t tarnish Never Have I Ever‘s heartwarming farewell season or employ a man who’s so recently contributed to toxic work environments, did the series have to cast this specific man? Kaling’s former wholesome Office costar Steve Carell, age 61, could have played Len. National treasure Bob Odenkirk, also 60, could have dated Nirmala. Henry Winkler is 77, but he could certainly Len it up. John Pankow? Paul Reiser? The list goes on and on.

Obviously, we don’t have the full story, nor do we know the specifics of what Garlin has done since leaving The Goldbergs to better himself or hold himself accountable to those who were directly impacted by his behavior. But Never Have I Ever casting the comedian as a kind, gentle love interest in the midst of very public reports of inappropriate behavior seems like a real choice — one that unnecessarily dulls the sparkle of an otherwise effervescent final chapter.

All four seasons of Never Have I Ever are now streaming on Netflix.