‘The Wonder Years’: Patti LaBelle to Play Mother of Dulé Hill’s Bill in Season 2
Patti LaBelle is set to join the cast of ABC‘s The Wonder Years for Season 2. She will play Bill’s (Dulé Hill) mother, Shirley Williams, for a two-episode guest appearance as the church choir director.
“Mother Williams is as sweet as she can be but has another side to her when choir members don’t quite hit the right notes,” her official character description reads.
The Wonder Years is a reprise of the 1988 coming-of-age series of the same name, joining the long list of nostalgic shows that have been brought back or reimagined in new forms in recent years.
In the updated version, 12-year-old Dean (Elisha “EJ” Williams) is a preteen growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, during the tumultuous late ’60s, under the guidance of his parents, Bill and Lillian (Saycon Sengbloh) and siblings. Like the original, the series is told through Dean’s adult perspective and reflections, with Don Cheadle voicing the grown-up Dean.
Laura Kariuki, Julian Lerner, Amari O’Neil, and Milan Ray also star in the series.
The comedy is executive produced by Lee Daniels, Saladin K. Patterson, and Bob Daily for 20th Television.
LaBelle is best known for her Grammy-winning music career, with huge hits like “Lady Marmalade” and “On My Own.” But she has been nominated for Emmys for guest starring roles on shows before. She has previously worked on American Horror Story, Empire, The Kominsky Method, Greenleaf, The Neighborhood, and The Masked Singer. She is also a prolific author, having six books to her credit, and a generous philanthropist, advocating for causes like adoption, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and more.
The Wonder Years will make a mid-season return, but no official release date is set yet.
