#The Wonder Years Reboot With Black Family In the Works At ABC

The Wonder Years is getting the reboot treatment. 

ABC has handed out a pilot production commitment to a new iteration of the hit comedy-drama, which would focus on a Black family. 

Empire co-creator Lee Daniels is shepherding the half-hour project for the network.

It would be set in the late 1960s — the same era as the original series — and focused on a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama. 

Fred Savage, who toplined the original 1988-93 series will work on the new interation, and will serve as director of the pilot. 

Savage will also exec-produce along with Daniels and Saladin K. Patterson. The latter is best-known for his work on Psych and Dave. 

Patterson also serves as the writer of the pilot. 

Neal Marlens, who co-created the original series, is also on board as a consultant for the next generation of the series. 

With ABC giving the project a pilot production commitment, it means the first hurdle is the pilot script. If the network likes the script, it will move forward with a writers room with the eye of producing a full season of episodes. 

ABC is one of many networks relying on reboots over the last several years. It successfully revived Roseanne, which later spun off into The Conners. 

NYPD Blue and New York Undercover were both in the works last season, but failed to clinch a formal pickup after their pilots did not come in as well as expected. 

This season, ABC tried out a sequels to thirtysomething and Revenge, but both were stopped in their tracks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Wonder Years was a roaring success during its original run, with Savage becoming the youngest actor ever nominated for an Emmy as Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

The series earned 22 awards and 76 nominations throughout its run. 

What do you think of this latest reboot?

Hit the comments below. 

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.