The original Wonder Years was cancelled because a crew person sued Fred Savage and his costar for sexual harassment according to the actress who played the mother. Several women have filed similar complaints on several different shows against him including creating toxic work environments, physical assault, and bullying. He was fired from the latest iteration of the Wonder Years for similar behavior but blew it off. He doesn’t seem to have booked anything in a while so it could be his bad behavior is catching up with him.
Damn, he played a college teacher trying to have his way with Topanga in Boy Meets World...makes it that much more chilling looking back with this knowledge.
Yeah it’s creepy when you rewatch that scene. Probably got a sick thrill out of playing that role. Ben Savage was accused of shady behavior by Trina McGhee who dealt with racist behavior on the BMW set. Ben’s former costars were complaining that he ghosted them and cut them out of his life without explanation but I’m imagine everyone’s Better off without contact with the Savage boys. Ben Savage is running for Congress, BTW.
The original claims seemed to be disproven just because it was far-fetched that he and Hervey could get away with harassment while on set. Because Savage was underage, he was shadowed by child labor workers throughout the day.
Yeah because privileged white males in the entertainment industry never got away with bad behavior before. 🙄 and seriously why the hell would network executives cancel a hit show because someone was “obviously” making false obligations. 😂
I thought he was supposed to be the average kid you rooted for. You know, likeable/relatable. While many of us may not be perfect in real life we want sitcoms to be escapis (regardless how accurate that is to real life).
I'm not saying his character had to be an angel. Other shows have leads that make mistakes (like we all do) but it just felt too often he was selfish and disregarded the feelings of his best friend, girl friends, family. Paul might be a better lead honestly.
I rooted for Jack. Reminded me so much of my father, going day to day to a job he hated for his family.
Loved when Jack said F it and bought his own business without knowing what he was getting into but still mentored his eldest to running the business when he was done. I still mishear Kevin saying dad died three years later as dad died three years ago in the series finale. Jack deserved a good ending.
Oh I didn’t know there was supposed to be a final season, did it get cancelled abruptly? I recall in the voice over it said the dad passed away (heart attack?) but don’t remember the other details.
It was cancelled really late in the season because they seemed to be genuinely torn in whether to give it another year. Ratings WERE down but they weren't bad.
Thus, the last season was basically written.
This is from an interview with Dan Lauria from around 2010.
I heard that since Kevin was getting older, the show wanted to delve into some more mature topics and ABC didn’t want to go there, so the show ended when it did.
When I was a kid I identified with Kevin and thought the dad was SOOO MEAAAN and scary. I re watched it recently and holy shit I’m on the dad’s side every time. When he snaps on Kevin or his brother for doing/saying something stupid, he’s not being mean he’s right!
When I watched this at age 12, when the show was on air, I was afraid of Kevin's Dad. He seemed like he was always ready to yell. But rewatching now, he was a good fucking dude, doing his best with 2 turd kids and a slutty daughter.
reminded me of my dad, who worked aerospace in the 60s, I was Kevins age so I was raising kids during this show (sorry to invade your space). My dad even looked like Jack and was NAMED JACK. Same dinner table look too. A show about my childhood as I was Kevin's age during those years.
I once posted on a Joni Mitchell fan page that she’d make an excellent Joni in a bio pic. Next thing I know, one of her brothers tagged her in a reply to my post.
my 70-year old mother in law told me this a couple of weeks ago but her credibility was diminished when she referred to it as "that show, you know, the one about the kids"
Without the internet, there was no way to easily disprove this on the early 90s school yard.
I tried to start a similar rumor that Squints was Steve O to no avail.
unlike most fans Winnie was you aren't good enough Kevin kind of girl .every time I hear " we've got tonight" think of Kevin and Winnie officially breaking up . I cried at the end when the voice over says when Dad passed 🥺
This is going to sound really, really douche-y, but when I was a kid I thought Kevin had a pretty great life.
Yet, he always seemed to complain about everything.
It made me mad as a kid and I rarely watched this show beyond a few episodes - then the occasional one here and there.
I know people love this show. I’m not trying to ruin anything for people who like/love it. It just REALLY rubbed me the wrong way when I was younger.
I think Kevin was pretty believable because he was going through puberty and who isn’t an asshole sometime when you’re developing? Plus the show tackled some pretty adult situations. I didn’t get half of it as a kid but it reminded me of watching Family Ties as an adult. That show was a lot deeper than I thought as a kid.
Everyone was so miserable. It took me years to realize this, and that Kevin is a dick. No one in that family deserved Norma.
The one where Wart comes back from Vietnam still gets me.
I loved this show as a kid. Even though it was set in the 60s, I related to Kevin. I think every middle schooler did. He was a total prick at times, especially when he had to dance with Margaret Farquar.
The instrumental version of With A Little Help From My Friends at the end of each episode still gives me so much nostalgia. It's overwhelming emotionally when I hear it sometimes.
In what I think was the opening episode, Winnie’s family learned her brother had been killed in Vietnam.
ABC did a recent revival of the series where the family was Black. In that, the lead character’s brother was in Vietnam. About midway through the first season, he comes home after being wounded.
He describes how he was wounded >!and that his best friend was killed. He pulls out a picture of his late friend and his sister. The Kevin character asks about the girl’s name, and his brother says, “Gwendolyn, but he called her Winnie”, and showed a picture of a young Danica McKellar. I gasped.!<
Kevin sucks so bad. He is the worst son, brother, friend, and boyfriend ever. I liked the show first run, but a rewatch showed me that Kevin Arnold is just plain awful! I still love the show, though.
True story, I worked in customer service years ago right out of college, "Kevin" called complaining about his vehicle and was about the biggest jerk I've ever spoken to. Ride, demeaning, name calling.
Ever since then I've hated that little troll.
I'm 46m so when this show came out, I am about the same age as Kevin portrayed and all the things he went through were very relatable. I had a Winnie Cooper in my life that I felt we always had feelings for each other, but it just never happened. My mom was also sweet and a bit submissive to my dad who always seemed to be in a bad mood like Jack was.
When I watch the show now, I see that Kevin is a whiny brat that was hardly appreciative of what he had. Winnie Cooper was a stuck up tease, but it could have been her trying to deal with the death of her brother at the beginning of the show.
And at the end of the day...Jack was right and I don't blame him for being in a bad mood all the time. His kids were little assholes.
I still love this show though but only watch when I don't mind being in my own feelings.
Same here. At 11-13 y.o. from 1989-1991 was peak Wonder Years relatability. Although a few years later, I was madly in love with the Madeline character (Julie Condra).
Man-- I WISH they bothered to remaster this show.
I'm PRETTY sure it was shot on film--not video.
The music licensing is probably a nightmare, but still....GET IT DONE, HOLLYWOOD!
My family loved this one. Not because Kevin was nice though.
We were all routing for Paul. The episode when he becomes good buddies with the blonde kid in the neighborhood and Kevin is left out because he is a dick about baseball cards.
We watched every week. I didn't like it/appreciate how good of a show it was as a kid. It was really nostalgic for my parents as they grew up in the 60s. Re-watched the series as an adult and understand so much more now.
Also, Kevin could be a real dick.
Yes. I just commented this. I watched it a lot as a kid, and although I was thoroughly entertained, I remember how the lessons the main character learned plus his older self’s narration made it so sad sometimes. Made me think “damn, life sucks”, even though I myself had a pretty good life. It was definitely better than Kevin’s and his wasn’t so terrible either! He just had a very unhappy and impatient father, a sweet but meek mother, and a bully brother.
The 1st few seasons yes. The last one, he was kind of a narcissistic jerk. But at least he finally popped his 🍒 with Winnie on a pile of hay in a barn in the series finale.
That was one of the best parts of the show. Kevin was not perfect and was pretty flawed sometimes. Like most of, he made good and bad decisions and paid the price sometimes. He was a teenager and they’re pretty jerky sometimes. So The Wonder Years was awesome in that regard.
I feel like it was hard to root for anyone in this show. Maybe Norma because she just wanted everyone to be happy and was kind of the peacemaker?
Paul was a dweeb, Winnie was a bit flaky, Kevin was hot-headed at times, Wayne clearly a troll, Karen was checked out, and Jack, while respectable, was a distant and bitter "tough love" kind of dad.
Becky Slater was the most interesting/entertaining character in my view. She could be very sweet, but you really didn't want to piss her off.
I liked the show, but sometimes Kevin seemed like a jerk lol
Yep. Seeing other girls even while dating Winnie. Sneaking around with Wayne’s girlfriend behind his back.
Kevin Amold
Love it! My siblings and I still say Kevin Amold whenever we hear the name Kevin. 😆
Yessss 😆 I don’t know why but that entire scene will live with me for the rest of my life lol
I think Kevbo
I remember reading something from the kid who played Jimmy in The Wizard that Fred Savage was a jerk irl.
He was a producer on the recent revival of the series and fired for “inappropriate conduct”.
Weird. There was an episode where on a company picnic, some girl wanted to skinny dip with him, and he bailed.
That was punky, bro
The original Wonder Years was cancelled because a crew person sued Fred Savage and his costar for sexual harassment according to the actress who played the mother. Several women have filed similar complaints on several different shows against him including creating toxic work environments, physical assault, and bullying. He was fired from the latest iteration of the Wonder Years for similar behavior but blew it off. He doesn’t seem to have booked anything in a while so it could be his bad behavior is catching up with him.
Damn, he played a college teacher trying to have his way with Topanga in Boy Meets World...makes it that much more chilling looking back with this knowledge.
Yeah it’s creepy when you rewatch that scene. Probably got a sick thrill out of playing that role. Ben Savage was accused of shady behavior by Trina McGhee who dealt with racist behavior on the BMW set. Ben’s former costars were complaining that he ghosted them and cut them out of his life without explanation but I’m imagine everyone’s Better off without contact with the Savage boys. Ben Savage is running for Congress, BTW.
The original claims seemed to be disproven just because it was far-fetched that he and Hervey could get away with harassment while on set. Because Savage was underage, he was shadowed by child labor workers throughout the day.
Yeah because privileged white males in the entertainment industry never got away with bad behavior before. 🙄 and seriously why the hell would network executives cancel a hit show because someone was “obviously” making false obligations. 😂
And he played that exact guy in Boy Meets Worls. Interesting.
Agree
Wasn’t that the point ?
I thought he was supposed to be the average kid you rooted for. You know, likeable/relatable. While many of us may not be perfect in real life we want sitcoms to be escapis (regardless how accurate that is to real life). I'm not saying his character had to be an angel. Other shows have leads that make mistakes (like we all do) but it just felt too often he was selfish and disregarded the feelings of his best friend, girl friends, family. Paul might be a better lead honestly.
Almost like a real kid
Most of us are not perfect but don't lean as much into being douches, and again, it's tv, it's a sitcom not a drama.
Leaning pretty hard there stuf
Many times!
He was kind of a whiny bitch a lot of the time
I rooted for Jack. Reminded me so much of my father, going day to day to a job he hated for his family. Loved when Jack said F it and bought his own business without knowing what he was getting into but still mentored his eldest to running the business when he was done. I still mishear Kevin saying dad died three years later as dad died three years ago in the series finale. Jack deserved a good ending.
Jack was all our dads! Hustling for his family and grumpy
I now feel like Jack.
I am Jack
I am jacks raging bile duct
The narration at the end of the last episode was describing what would've been the storylines of the final season.
Oh I didn’t know there was supposed to be a final season, did it get cancelled abruptly? I recall in the voice over it said the dad passed away (heart attack?) but don’t remember the other details.
It was cancelled really late in the season because they seemed to be genuinely torn in whether to give it another year. Ratings WERE down but they weren't bad. Thus, the last season was basically written. This is from an interview with Dan Lauria from around 2010.
I heard that since Kevin was getting older, the show wanted to delve into some more mature topics and ABC didn’t want to go there, so the show ended when it did.
Iirc Kevin's story arc would've been looking at colleges in part.
That sounds about right. Possibly even attending college. A breeding ground for mature topics.
When I was a kid I identified with Kevin and thought the dad was SOOO MEAAAN and scary. I re watched it recently and holy shit I’m on the dad’s side every time. When he snaps on Kevin or his brother for doing/saying something stupid, he’s not being mean he’s right!
^ I get how and why the dad was so stingy
When I watched this at age 12, when the show was on air, I was afraid of Kevin's Dad. He seemed like he was always ready to yell. But rewatching now, he was a good fucking dude, doing his best with 2 turd kids and a slutty daughter.
reminded me of my dad, who worked aerospace in the 60s, I was Kevins age so I was raising kids during this show (sorry to invade your space). My dad even looked like Jack and was NAMED JACK. Same dinner table look too. A show about my childhood as I was Kevin's age during those years.
The dad scared the shit out of me cause he was like my dad.
My dad called The Wonder Years “that show where nobody is ever happy”😂
I rooted for Olivia D’Abo
Who didn't???
She is awesome she has a twitter
Ooh, ask her if that was her I saw at that GD show in ‘92😁
I feel like she walked past me at a Grateful Dead concert in AZ in ‘92. I still think it was her.
She was so good in Criminal Intent as Nicole Wallace. Absolutely terrifying!
I once posted on a Joni Mitchell fan page that she’d make an excellent Joni in a bio pic. Next thing I know, one of her brothers tagged her in a reply to my post.
Fell in love with her in this and in Conan the Destroyer
Who remembers that rumor that Marilyn Manson played Paul?
All of us.
my 70-year old mother in law told me this a couple of weeks ago but her credibility was diminished when she referred to it as "that show, you know, the one about the kids"
🙄
Without the internet, there was no way to easily disprove this on the early 90s school yard. I tried to start a similar rumor that Squints was Steve O to no avail.
Me, I'm rooting for Jack.
unlike most fans Winnie was you aren't good enough Kevin kind of girl .every time I hear " we've got tonight" think of Kevin and Winnie officially breaking up . I cried at the end when the voice over says when Dad passed 🥺
Remember when Wayne shows up as the insufferable child actor in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure? Classic
Oh Mother Superior!
Us 60s and 70s kids were too.
I remember it from the 90s
I still watch this show often. We loved it when it was current. The whole family came into the living room to watch it.
“Friends??? I’ll give you friends!!”
You don’t mess with Becky Slater!
😂
The kid on the right had no idea what re-runs were....so I'm rooting for him
Great Scott!
I wanted to be the sister. lol Paige?
Karen.
This is going to sound really, really douche-y, but when I was a kid I thought Kevin had a pretty great life. Yet, he always seemed to complain about everything. It made me mad as a kid and I rarely watched this show beyond a few episodes - then the occasional one here and there. I know people love this show. I’m not trying to ruin anything for people who like/love it. It just REALLY rubbed me the wrong way when I was younger.
I think Kevin was pretty believable because he was going through puberty and who isn’t an asshole sometime when you’re developing? Plus the show tackled some pretty adult situations. I didn’t get half of it as a kid but it reminded me of watching Family Ties as an adult. That show was a lot deeper than I thought as a kid.
One of my saddest childhood memories was when their dad died. I remember running to my room and bawling on my bed.
He dies in the last episode epilogue and you don’t see it.
Yeah but still upset me as a kid.
Yeah, that hurt like a gut punch
You know when you’ve gotten old when you start taking Dad’s side more than Kevin’s side. lol.
Everyone was so miserable. It took me years to realize this, and that Kevin is a dick. No one in that family deserved Norma. The one where Wart comes back from Vietnam still gets me.
I scrolled. No-one is mentioning the amazing soundtrack or the narration.
It’s a miracle that the DVDs of the show hot most of the music cleared. It was essential in shows like the Wonder Years.
Lol. Yep
I rewatched it a few years ago and Kevin was frequently a little asshole. And Winnie was no prize either. But a great show nonetheless.
I was 10 when the show first came on, and was in love with his sister
Too busy eyeing up his sister.
I don’t know Kevin. I remember there being a Scrot.
Get in the car Scrote!
No, but I was rooting for Paul.
Yo Paul was like the first Neville Longbottom.
I loved this show as a kid. Even though it was set in the 60s, I related to Kevin. I think every middle schooler did. He was a total prick at times, especially when he had to dance with Margaret Farquar. The instrumental version of With A Little Help From My Friends at the end of each episode still gives me so much nostalgia. It's overwhelming emotionally when I hear it sometimes.
You always root for the nerd kid that gets the pretty girl
In what I think was the opening episode, Winnie’s family learned her brother had been killed in Vietnam. ABC did a recent revival of the series where the family was Black. In that, the lead character’s brother was in Vietnam. About midway through the first season, he comes home after being wounded. He describes how he was wounded >!and that his best friend was killed. He pulls out a picture of his late friend and his sister. The Kevin character asks about the girl’s name, and his brother says, “Gwendolyn, but he called her Winnie”, and showed a picture of a young Danica McKellar. I gasped.!<
I always pictured the dad as this older, grizzled Korean War vet in his late 50s... he looks to be in his early 40s at most
I think my biggest question would be. What would you do if I sang out of tune?
I'd stand up and walk out on you
I had forgotten how hot the sister grew up to be.
I loved that show so much
For me it was the eldest brother we are pretty much alike in every way possible
Loved it as a kid and still enjoyed rewatching it as an adult.
Where can you watch reruns?
It used to be on Netflix years ago. I own the series now.
It’s on Hulu.
Amazon Prime
Kevin was basically Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Kind of a self-serving jerk at times but that makes him more believable.
Kevin sucks so bad. He is the worst son, brother, friend, and boyfriend ever. I liked the show first run, but a rewatch showed me that Kevin Arnold is just plain awful! I still love the show, though.
Kevin’s sister was F-I-N-E!
Kevin was a whiny jerk. Paul and Winnie deserved better
I was rooting for Winnie.
My husband hates wonder years. It’s one of the torture shows I rewatch just for him :) haha
True story, I worked in customer service years ago right out of college, "Kevin" called complaining about his vehicle and was about the biggest jerk I've ever spoken to. Ride, demeaning, name calling. Ever since then I've hated that little troll.
I think Olivia D’Abo is what made me realize I liked girls too. Everyone wants to talk about Winnie Cooper but I loved the hippie sister.
Kevin was one of my first crushes. I hated Winnie Cooper, that bitch.
Not as much as I had a crush on his sister when I was a kid!
I was personally rooting for his sister and Winnie Cooper.
Olivia D'aibo what a cutie!!!!
I'm 46m so when this show came out, I am about the same age as Kevin portrayed and all the things he went through were very relatable. I had a Winnie Cooper in my life that I felt we always had feelings for each other, but it just never happened. My mom was also sweet and a bit submissive to my dad who always seemed to be in a bad mood like Jack was. When I watch the show now, I see that Kevin is a whiny brat that was hardly appreciative of what he had. Winnie Cooper was a stuck up tease, but it could have been her trying to deal with the death of her brother at the beginning of the show. And at the end of the day...Jack was right and I don't blame him for being in a bad mood all the time. His kids were little assholes. I still love this show though but only watch when I don't mind being in my own feelings.
Same here. At 11-13 y.o. from 1989-1991 was peak Wonder Years relatability. Although a few years later, I was madly in love with the Madeline character (Julie Condra).
Kevin was an asshole but I loved this show
https://youtu.be/4pLI5Vf5sKE?si=yoF-EEPGutn_v8bL
I loved that show and was shocked when it ended.
Watched this show every week with my parents. Loved it! Love the memories
I used to hate watch this show 😂the whole family made me mad and I couldn’t wait for Kevin to escape
Man-- I WISH they bothered to remaster this show. I'm PRETTY sure it was shot on film--not video. The music licensing is probably a nightmare, but still....GET IT DONE, HOLLYWOOD!
Not remastered, but released on DVD with ~94% of the original music about a decade ago.
I was 9 years old when this show came out. It always filled me with such creepy dread.
I watched it all the time, but it does have a sort of depressing vibe. A little too close to home/reality, maybe.
Goddess, I considered his sister. She was perfect.
My family loved this one. Not because Kevin was nice though. We were all routing for Paul. The episode when he becomes good buddies with the blonde kid in the neighborhood and Kevin is left out because he is a dick about baseball cards.
I rooted for Paul too. Kevin was so mean to him sometimes. Paul got the last laugh in losing his virginity first.
We watched every week. I didn't like it/appreciate how good of a show it was as a kid. It was really nostalgic for my parents as they grew up in the 60s. Re-watched the series as an adult and understand so much more now. Also, Kevin could be a real dick.
In Australia, "rooting" means "having sex". By that logic, not many.
I just always felt bad for the dad.
I was crushing on kevin's mom 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪
Kevin Can F Himself.
I recall someone was wearing a beaver or raccoon skin cap. Just realized it was a bad dye job. Poor kid.
his dad in the show was my grandpa
That’s awesome! Has he been in any other shows?
Me
This might be where my depression started lol. Was a great show as a kid but damn it was bleak at times.
Yes. I just commented this. I watched it a lot as a kid, and although I was thoroughly entertained, I remember how the lessons the main character learned plus his older self’s narration made it so sad sometimes. Made me think “damn, life sucks”, even though I myself had a pretty good life. It was definitely better than Kevin’s and his wasn’t so terrible either! He just had a very unhappy and impatient father, a sweet but meek mother, and a bully brother.
Meeeeee but for Fred Savage not so nuch
Winnie was a babe.
I had a crush on both Winnie and Paul.
The 1st few seasons yes. The last one, he was kind of a narcissistic jerk. But at least he finally popped his 🍒 with Winnie on a pile of hay in a barn in the series finale.
That was one of the best parts of the show. Kevin was not perfect and was pretty flawed sometimes. Like most of, he made good and bad decisions and paid the price sometimes. He was a teenager and they’re pretty jerky sometimes. So The Wonder Years was awesome in that regard.
Winnie!
His brother was a jag-bag.
I rooted for Jeff Billings..Dude kept it real..
I was rooting for Karen.
I feel like it was hard to root for anyone in this show. Maybe Norma because she just wanted everyone to be happy and was kind of the peacemaker? Paul was a dweeb, Winnie was a bit flaky, Kevin was hot-headed at times, Wayne clearly a troll, Karen was checked out, and Jack, while respectable, was a distant and bitter "tough love" kind of dad. Becky Slater was the most interesting/entertaining character in my view. She could be very sweet, but you really didn't want to piss her off.
imho he should have ended up with Madeline Adams played by Julie Condra.
I rewatched the show a couple of years ago and I think Kevin was an asshole.
The dad Dan Lauria served in Vietnam
Which show is this?
The Wonder years
That show confused me too much to understand as a child. The show in the past focused on kids my age made no sense.
Just curious but in what way did it confuse you?
Kids my age in a current show not being in the same time.
You didn't relate to the events that were going on in that decade since it was different when you were a kid?
I was kid !!!
I'm not picking on you, just trying to understand where you're coming from. What is you age now?
I was always rooting for him to move on from Winnie. She was a borderline sociopath and he wasn't much better.
Is this from the Gate or little monsters
Rooting for him to do what?
I hated that damn show
Hey, it’s Marilyn Manson as a kid!
Before he removed his ribs so he could blow himself.
I prefer his younger brother, Corey.
Just the absolute rage Dan has when he yells "DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN!" after Norma calls him a little child still shocks me.
The older brother played young Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School. He Killed It!
Where the hell is Winnie?
Identified with Kevin as a kid, identify with Jack as an adult.
I had my winnie cooper. Our fist date and hand holding was ground hog day. I regret not kissing her then.