A ‘Wonder Years’ remake following a Black family is in the works

Get ready to sing that iconic song out of tune all over again. The Wonder Years is potentially coming back for a whole new generation 30 years later, only this time instead of focusing on a middleclass family of five in “Anytown,” this proposed iteration will follow a Black family in 1960s Alabama.

ABC confirmed it has ordered a pilot of the remake, and if the network approves of the script then it will open up a mini writers room, as per The Hollywood Reporter. So who have they enlisted to helm such an undertaking? That would be Big Bang Theory scribe Saladin K. Patterson and none other than Lee Daniels, who most recently brought Empire and Star to TV viewers. The director and producer was also behind the Oscar-worthy films Precious and Lee Daniels’ The Butler.

THR reports that original series star Fred Savage is attached to direct the pilot (he’s been busy behind-the-camera on tons of shows over the years, from The Connors and Modern Family to The Goldbergs and Black-ish), and that original series co-creator Neal Marlens will consult.Placing this reboot in Montgomery, Al. in the 1960s puts this new TV family at the height of civil unrest in the American south. THR reveals that the new take “focuses on how a Black middle-class family in the turbulent late ‘60s made sure it was ‘the wonder years’ for them, too.”

To sell the idea, Daniels and Savage took it directly to the president of ABC Entertainment, Karey Burke, who has said that the original Wonder Years was one of the shows that made her want to work in television in the first place.Like the original, which debuted in 1988 and ran for six seasons, this proposed new series will be a half-hour comedy. That doesn’t mean the network will shy away from serious topics like systemic racism and privilege though; ABC also airs the Anthony Anderson-led comedy Black-ish, which over its seven-season run has been lauded by fans and critics for tackling issues of police brutality, LGBTQ+ rights, and postpartum depression, among others.“

Our show is consciously authentic and consciously honest. And a lot of the subject matter that we courageously dive into does end up coming across that way,” star Tracee Ellis Ross told PBS News Hour in 2018. “I think that they are topics that are uncomfortable for people. They are topics that are — need to be unpacked and discussed, and I think that's why they're uncomfortable for people.”If the new Wonder Years moves forward, fans should expect it to hit TV screens during the 2021-22 season. The original iteration was nominated for 28 Emmys from 1988-1993 and took home the trophy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1988. In addition to Savage, the show starred Alley Mills, Jason Hervey, Josh Saviano, Dan Lauria, Danica McKellar, Olivia d’Abo, and Daniel Stern as the narrator.

[video_embed id='1991285']BEFORE YOU GO: Tom Hanks has a blunt message for people who don't wear a mask[/video_embed]