‘The Wonder Years’ Canceled at ABC After Two Seasons

The Wonder Years is coming to an end after two seasons on ABC.
The decision to end the comedy series follows the 10-episode second season having aired its finale Aug. 16. ABC announced late last year that the season had been bumped to the summer.The Wonder Years is inspired by the original series of the same name that debuted in 1988 and aired its finale in May 1993 after six seasons.

The recent version starred Dulé Hill and featured Don Cheadle as the narrator. Elisha “EJ” Williams, Saycon Sengbloh, Laura Kariuki, Amari O’Neil, Julian Lerner and Milan Ray rounded out the cast for the project that was created by Saladin K. Patterson and premiered in September 2021.

Original series star Fred Savage, who worked as a director and executive producer on ABC’s reinvented version, was fired last year following a misconduct investigation. Amid the ongoing writers and actors strikes, ABC is set to launch its fall slate later this month with no new scripted shows and a heavy reliance on unscripted offerings. Among the series airing new episodes soon include Dancing With the Stars — which returns to the network after its previous season on Disney+ — along with game shows such as Celebrity Jeopardy!, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and Press Your Luck, plus The Bachelor franchise spinoffs Bachelor in Paradise and senior citizen-focused The Golden Bachelor.

In her review of The Wonder Years at the time of the show’s 2021 launch, critic Angie Han wrote, “That the series manages to invoke nostalgia for bygone days while also remaining relatively clear-eyed about the challenges of that period, both in adolescence and in American history, is no small feat — and it accomplishes this while delivering the cozy appeal of the best family sitcoms, including the one that gives it its name.”