If You Loved 'The Wonder Years,' Here's Where the Reboot Takes Place

Let’s rewind back to 1988 when the first episode of the original Wonder Years premiered starring Fred Savage, Danica McKellar, and Josh Saviano. The iconic show based in the late '60s and early '70s focuses on an innocent boy named Kevin Arnold as he navigates adolescence with his best friend Paul.

The ABC reboot of the same name is now available for streaming on Hulu and it's becoming just as beloved as its successful predecessor.

However, the Wonder Years reboot does have some differences from the original, including where its characters are located.

The show takes place in Montgomery, Ala., a city that played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement, with events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma to Montgomery March. This sets the tone for the new storyline.

Although the 2021 retelling of The Wonder Years is set in Montgomery, Ala., production for the show actually takes place in Atlanta, Ga. Successful film and TV production in Atlanta has been ongoing for many decades.

There are a lot of excellent backdrops in Atlanta that can be considered comparable to the backdrops in Montgomery, which is likely why the producers and creators of the new Wonder Years decided this was the ideal place for filming.

The newest version of The Wonder Years tells the story of a young African-American boy named Dean growing up in the late 1960s. At 12 years old, his coming-of-age story has a lot to do with race relations since that was a huge hot topic during that era.

According to WSFA, one of the executive producers for the new Wonder Years, Saladin Patterson, said, "We’ve seen the struggle. We’ve seen the civil rights struggle. We’ve seen the struggle of oppression in the late '60s in the civil rights movement for a Black family and that’s all very important, but what we haven’t necessarily seen is what the experience was like for the Black middle class that also existed during that time."

The new Wonder Years is shedding a lot of light on a time in history that deserves more attention so people can have a better understanding of what went down.

The cast of the new Wonder Years is predominantly African-American starring Elisha Williams as Dean Williams, Dulé Hill as Bill Williams, Milan Ray as Kiesa Clemmons, and Saycon Sengbloh as Lillian Williams.

Elisha is still fairly new to the Hollywood industry so landing this leading role is a big deal for him.

"Dean's so relatable to me," Elisha told Entertainment Weekly about his character. "I've mainly been doing it by just keeping it natural. And watching the old show definitely helped a lot with my comedic timing."

Elisha even worked with Fred Savage, who starred on the original Wonder Years, and shared some advice he got from his predecessor.

"One thing he always tells me is, when you're doing the scene, make sure it's through your eyes," Elisha shared. "Because eyes can tell a lot of story; you can sell fear in your eyes, you can sell energy in your eyes. That definitely helps."

Season 2 of The Wonder Years premieres on June 14 on ABC. Plus, it'll be available the next day to stream on Hulu. As for Season 3, we haven't heard any official word yet!