Deadline has revealed that the upcoming reboot of The Wonder Years has cast Saycon Sengbloh (In The Dark) in the lead role as the matriarch of the Williams family in the new ABC series.
The Wonder Years reboot will feature a Black family in the 1960s, the same period the original series was set in. The official synopsis reads the show will explore “how the Williamses, a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, AL, in the turbulent late 1960s made sure it was the Wonder Years for them too.” Original Wonder Years star Fred Savage will direct the pilot from a script written by showrunner Saladin Patterson.
Sengbloh will play Lillian Williams. “Sharp as a tack, Lillian is confident, kind, perceptive and has a good sense of humor. She knows exactly the right thing to say to convince you of anything. As a mother, wife and full-time accountant, she’s organized, efficient and hard-working, but she always puts family first.”
The Wonder Years reboot will be executive produced by Lee Daniels (Empire), Savage and Patterson alongside Marc Velez. Neal Marlens, the co-creator of the original series, will also serve as a consultant.
Airing for six seasons between 1988 and 1993, The Wonder Years was a huge ratings success for ABC, and was the recipient of four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award. Along with Savage, the series starred Dan Lauria, Alley Mills, Jason Hervy, Olivia a’Abo, Josh Saviano and Danica McKellar.
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