ABC’s ‘The Wonder Years’ Canceled; featured black family in 1960s Montgomery
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“The Wonder Years” Cast: Dule Hill, Saycon Sengbloh, Laura Kariuki, Elisha Williams – (ABC/Erika Doss)
Accordingly, the new edition of “The Wonder Years” was canceled by ABC after two seasons diversity, Weekly entertainment and other publications.
It featured a middle-class black family living in Montgomery in the 1960s, following the original version of the coming-of-age series that debuted in the 1980s and starred Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold .
Savage and Saladin K. Patterson created the reboot, which followed 12-year-old Dean Williams, played by Elisha “EJ” Williams, and the lessons he learned while growing up in Montgomery. Don Cheadle, an older version of Dean, served as the narrator.
Dule Hill was the father of the family and posted this on X, formerly Twitter:
Be cool…. When one chapter ends, another begins. congratulations to @S_K_Patterson, this talented cast and our amazing crew who have brought this beautiful story to our television screens over the past two seasons. Thankful. What’s next? #TheWonderfulYears ✌🏾@WonderYearsABC
– Dulé Hill (@DuleHill) September 16, 2023
ABC had announced details of the reboot in 2021. The show shot scenes in Montgomery and sought out extras from the area to give it an authentic feel. In October 2021, the actors came to Montgomery to film around the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, whose street featured 1960s cars. A portion of Eastdale Mall has been remodeled to look like a period shopping center.
Entertainment Weekly reports that Savage was a director and executive producer for the first season before being fired following a misconduct investigation.