‘The Wonder Years’ Canceled at ABC After 2 Seasons

Dan Clarendon September 16, 2023, 12:03 pm

The cast of 'The Wonder Years' Season 2 - Julian Lerner as Brad Harper, Amari OÕNeil as Cory Long, Milan Ray as Keisa Clemmons, Elisha Williams as Dean Williams, Saycon Sengbloh as Lillian Williams, Dul Hill as Bill Williams, Laura Kariuki as Kim Williams — ABC/Matt Sayles

ABC has canceled the comedy series — a reboot of the 1988 show of the same name — after a two-season run, Deadline reports.

The latest version of The Wonder Years is a coming-of-age story following a Black middle-class family living in 1960s-era Montgomery, Alabama, through the point of view of 12-year-old Dean (Elisha “EJ” Williams).

“With the wisdom of his adult years, Dean’s hopeful and humorous recollections show how his family found their ‘wonder years’ in a turbulent time,” ABC added in a logline for the series, which was narrated by Don Cheadle as an older version of the protagonist.

Created by Saladin K. Patterson, The Wonder Years also starred Dulé Hill and Saycon Sengbloh as Bill and Lillian Williams, Dean’s parents, and Laura Kariuki as Kim, his sister. Amari O’Neil, Julian Lerner, and Milan Ray played friends of Dean’s — portraying Cory, Brad, and Keisa, respectively.

The Wonder Years - Anthony Jenkins, Yvonne Orji, Spence Moore II, Saycon Sengbloh, Dulé Hill

Mathew Miller/ABC

Alongside Paladin, the 20th Television production also counted Lee Daniels, Bob Daily, and Marc Velez as executive producers. Fred Savage, star of the original Wonder Years, also executive-produced the reboot until he was fired for alleged inappropriate conduct.

The Wonder Years’ 22-episode first season premiered in September 2021, but its 10-episode second season didn’t premiere until this June. (“It’s one of the great mysteries of this broadcast season why ABC kept this Peabody-winning comedy on the shelf for so long,” TV Insider’s Matt Roush said at the time. “It deserves much better.”)

'The Wonder Years' Star Dulé Hill Speaks Out on Show's Drag Storyline

Perhaps because of that summertime scheduling, The Wonder Years’ ratings dipped 50 percent in the 18-to-49 demographic between Season 1 and Season 2, while its total viewership dropped nearly 25 percent, according to TV Series Finale.

ABC also canceled The Company You Keep, Alaska Daily, and Big Sky this season. Still hanging in the balance at the network are The Rookie: Feds and Home Economics.