ABC’s ‘Wonder Years’ Reboot Finds Its Young Lead

The upcoming reboot of The Wonder Years at ABC has officially found its lead, casting Elisha “EJ” Williams as the show’s young star for its pilot, The Hollywood Reporter shares. Williams will play Dean, “an inquisitive and hopeful 12-year-old who’s coming of age in a turbulent time and trying to figure out his place both within his family and in the larger world. Dean is a little insecure, a tad awkward and a bit self-conscious, but he is determined to make his mark on the world around him.”

Saycon Sengbloh was previously cast as Dean’s mom, Lillian, and the reboot will be set in the ’60s like its source material and will be centered on a Black family in Montgomery, Alabama. The reboot comes from writer Saladin K. Patterson and executive producer Lee Daniels. Fred Savage, who starred as teenager Kevin Arnold in the original series and will direct the pilot for the reboot, was the one to let Williams in on the news of his casting in a video ABC shared called “Fred Savage Passes the Torch.”

“This project is very close to all of our hearts,” Savage told Williams. “It just means so much to everyone who’s involved. “[Patterson] is writing about his own experiences, and I’ve been connected to this show for like 30 years. When I was your age, I played, it was Kevin then, but it was the Dean part on The Wonder Years. So all of us are just so invested, and it means so much to us, which is why all these things are taking time, and we’re just pouring so much into it, as I know you are.”

“We got you on this Zoom because we wanted to welcome you to the family and tell you that it’s your turn to be the star of The Wonder Years,” he continued as Williams put his hands over his face and exclaimed, “Oh my God.” “Thank you,” he replied before lamenting the pitfalls of Zoom. “I would be enjoying this a whole lot more if you did not just lag,” he said. “It lagged just a little bit.”

Along with Savage, Patterson called in to congratulate Williams, prompting Williams to exclaim, “I’m gonna cry now!” Williams currently voices the dog Bingo on Disney Junior’s Puppy Dog Pals and has previously guest-starred on Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger and Danger Force. The North Carolina native is the son of basketball legend Harold “Lefty” Williams and author and entrepreneur Shyneefa Williams.