The Wonder Years was a popular television series by writers Carol Black and Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from 1988 to 1993. The network has approved a pilot for a remake of The Wonder Years, which is expected to launch later this year, starring Lee Daniels, Saladin Patterson (who also serves as showrunner), and Fred Savage, the lead actor from the original series. According to IMDb, Fred Savage directed the pilot.
Everything below we know so far about The Wonder Years reboot.
What are The Wonder Years about?
The original Wonder Years was a comedy-drama about an older Kevin Arnold looking back on his childhood in the late 1960s and 1970s and dealing with social and personal problems.
The reboot will have the same basic premise. Still, it will change things up by focusing on a black family living in Montgomery, Ala., in the late 1960s, with 12-year-old Dean Williams as the main character.
Who is starring in the remake of The Wonder Years?
The original cast of The Wonder Years included Savage, Daniel Stern, Dan Lauria, Alley Mills, and Danica McKellar. Here are the prominent cast members of the Wonder Years reboot:
When will The Wonder Years reboot air?
The Wonder Years airs every Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.
Wednesday’s airing falls on a busy night for ABC with The Goldbergs at 8 p.m., The Conners at 9 p.m., Home Economics at 9:30 p.m., and A Million Little Things at 10 p.m.
UPDATE (October 26): There will be many more episodes of The Wonder Years to come, as The Hollywood Reporter reported that ABC had ordered an entire season of The Wonder Years, which will include nine more episodes, making the first season 22 episodes in total.
There is a trailer for The Wonder Years reboot.
ABC released a trailer as part of its presentation in May. The trailer, led by a rendition of “With a Little Help from my Friends” (though not the version sung by Joe Cocker used as the theme song in the 1980s The Wonder Years), features a Don Cheadle narration about a young Dean Williams playing baseball and spending time with friends and family. Check out the trailer below.
While not a trailer, you can see more footage in this behind-the-scenes featurette from The Wonder Years. It includes interviews with writer and executive producer Saladin K. Patterson, Dulé Hill, Saycon Sengbloh, Elisha Williams, and the star of the original series and director of the reboot pilot Fred Savage.
A fresh perspective on a classic coming-of-age story. #TheWonderYears debuts September 22 on ABC! pic.twitter.com/Z5AJGqA2r62 August 2021
Are there any reviews for The Wonder Years?
Ahead of the series premiere on September 22, early reviews of The Wonder Years reboot have been mixed.
In its review, Variety notes that the series is less about the sentimentality of the original series that is toned down in this new version (and that’s because the series were set more than 50 years ago) and more about the result of growing up in such a time in history.
“The Wonder Years 2.0 pilot has this going for it: with a strength of thought rare for a modern network sitcom, it makes the characters’ relationships seem vivid and real against the backdrop of changing times,” reads Variety’s review.
The Hollywood Reporter called the new Wonder Years film a “successful and worthy reboot” and said it effectively balances cultural commentary with coming-of-age storytelling through its humor and cast.
As of September 22, The Wonder Years has scored 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and 70 on Metacritic.
What are your thoughts on The Wonder Years reboot?
The Wonder Years reboot will air live on local ABC stations on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET. To watch live, viewers will need a cable or satellite subscription, an antenna TV, or a subscription to services such as Fubo TV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, or YouTube TV.
If live TV isn’t your priority, you can watch the latest episodes on-demand at ABC.com or stream on Hulu the day after they air.
