We have some bad TV news to share this Saturday morning.
The Wonder Years has been canceled at ABC, Deadline reports.
The news comes a month after the series wrapped up its second season on the network.
Canceling a series without a pre-planned conclusion is difficult for the cast, crew, and fans, but it’s been clear ABC has been considering a future without the series for some time.
Despite soft ratings, The Wonder Years scored a renewal for Season 2 last year and was set to premiere at midseason.
However, the network pushed it to the fall, keeping the show off the air for over a year.
Summer scripted shows were once widespread on the broadcast networks, but nowadays, shows are sent there to burn off produced episodes.
The Wonder Years Season 2 averaged 1.8 million viewers and a 0.21 rating across ten episodes, down 50% in the demo vs. the freshman season.
Slippage was expected, given the lengthy hiatus, but it seems the network got its wish by banishing the show to the summer.
Why it didn’t air the show during the season is still unclear, but it was the death knell for the show.
The Wonder Years was a coming-of-age comedy that told the story of the Williams family during the late 1960s.
It was narrated through the point of view of 12-year-old Dean as he navigates growing up in a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama, and the friendship, laughter, and lessons learned along the way.
The Wonder Years starred Don Cheadle, narrating the series as adult Dean Williams, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Dean Williams, Dulé Hill as Bill Williams, and Saycon Sengbloh as Lillian Williams.
The cast was rounded out by Laura Kariuki as Kim Williams, Julian Lerner as Brad Hitman, Amari O’Neil as Cory Long, and Milan Ray as Keisa Clemmons.
What are your thoughts on the renew/cancel decision?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.