'The Wonder Years' Reboot Casts Its New Kevin And We're Emotional
The Wonder Years reboot will get by with a little help from a brand-new Kevin
It’s easy for critics to hate on the nostalgia trend when it comes to reboots and revivals of our favorite shows, but honestly, after the year we’ve all had? We need comfort. We need predictability. We need The Wonder Years reboot on ABC. And great news: they’ve found their new “Kevin.” EXCUSE ME IS IT DUSTY IN HERE?
The original series ran for 115 episodes from 1988 to 1993 and followed the Arnold family: Fred Savage starred as teenage Kevin; Dan Lauria as Kevin’s father Jack; Alley Mills as his mother Norma; Olivia d’Abo as his older sister Karen; Jason Hervey as his older brother Wayne; Josh Saviano as his best friend Paul; and Danica McKellar as his love interest and the quintessential girl-next-door, Winnie Cooper.
According to TVLine, the reboot will take place in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1968 and will focus on the middle-class Williams family as they make sure these are the Wonder Years for them, too. Dean, an inquisitive and hopeful 12-year-old, is trying to figure out his place within his Black family and the world at large, while coming of age in a turbulent time. Dean is basically the Kevin of The Wonder Years 2.0.
Actor Elisha “EJ” Williams will play Dean, taking the Kevin baton from Fred Savage (who played our beloved Kevin Arnold). “Though a little insecure, a tad awkward and a bit self-conscious, he is determined to make his mark on the world around him,” the character description reads.
If you’re in the mood to feel extremely emotional, please watch Savage offer the part to Williams in this adorably joyful video:
Williams currently voices the dog Bingo on Disney Junior’s animated Puppy Dog Pals, and he’s previously appeared in the Nickelodeon series Henry Danger and Danger Force.
Savage also shared some updated reboot news on his Instagram account this week, and also confirmed that he’ll be working on the reboot of the show behind the scenes.
“Some exciting things coming!” he captioned the photo, showing that ABC had officially ordered a pilot of the show.
Savage was previously not into the idea of a reboot or revival, at least not with the original cast. Here’s what he told Vanity Fair in 2017:
“You know, I’ve always said that The Wonder Years, it’s not just the name of the show — it’s a time in your life, a very special, finite time in your life. And the way the show was written, it’s about looking back with some longing. I think we all look back at that time in our lives and long for it and idealize it. One of the reasons it takes on this kind of mythic, almost haunting quality in our lives is because it’s something you can’t go back and can’t revisit. It only exists in our memories, in our shared experiences with people who went through it with us.”
No word yet on the exact premiere date, but it’s likely to hit this fall. Here’s hoping it’ll be simply wonderful.
