If you were around in the ’80s, you may have heard or watched the show “The Wonder Years”. A show, starring Fred Savage as a young boy growing up in the late ’60s and ’70s. The original show ran from 1988 to 1993, and even had a cult following and now there is a reboot.

This version of “The Wonder Years”, also takes place in the late ’60s and ’70s. With a few episodes since its premiere on September 22, 2021, it has primarily spotlighted growing up as an African American at the height of the civil rights movement. The difference is that this is a complete ethnic switch from the original series.

The Wonder Years, 2021 version, has opened viewers’ eyes to how it may have really felt like to live in the awkward tensions of the ’60s and ’70s due to the civil rights movement. For example, just in the first episode, the joyful tone of the show changed during a scene of the death of Martin Luther King. The characters embodied a feeling of grief as they felt a loss of hope due to the death of an important leader. The scene had the audience feeling the period of mourning which was similar to that felt by King’s actual death in 1968.

The show also relates topics of civil protesting and giving younger viewers an insight such as to the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary party founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966. In contrast to peaceful protest the Black Panther Party armed African American’s to protect themselves.

Although it’s hard to beat originals. The 2021 version of the Wonder Years stands alone in its own category. The show calls for viewers to look through the lens of racial inequality, culture, and everything in between growing up as an African American in the late ’60s and ’70s.
You can catch the Wonders Years reboot on ABC on Wednesday night at 7:30pm or on Hulu.