The Wonder Years reboot has set up its saddest narrative all wrong. ABC's revival of the groundbreaking comedy-drama has recently premiered. Introducing an entirely new cast, this new version still follows its predecessor's storytelling format, but this time, the perspective comes from a young Black boy living in Montgomery, Alabama during the late 1960s. Elisha "EJ" Williams plays the show's protagonist Dean Williams, with Don Cheadle providing the narration.
First airing in 1988, the original starred Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold, while Daniel Stern provided the voice-over by his future self. Running for six seasons, it was critically-acclaimed, winning Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy series after just six episodes. Uniquely, it was also granted a Peabody Award in 1989 for "pushing the boundaries of the sitcom format and using new modes of storytelling." Over the years it's become a classic, even ranking number 63 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest TV Shows Of All Time List.
Suffice to say, the ABC reboot has big shoes to fill, and at least the new The Wonder Years' premiere delivered a mostly satisfying introduction to Dean. Despite this, however, it already committed one mistake with regard to setting up a major emotional plot twist — something the original show did effectively. In the 1988 version, Winnie Cooper's (Danica McKellar) brother, Brian (Bentley Mitchum) was revealed to have died towards the end of its pilot while being deployed in Vietnam. Kevin looked up to Brian; he thought the Cooper's son was the epitome of cool. It helped that amidst all his angst, Brian was actually nice. He looked after Kevin and chastised the kid's older brother, Wayne (Jason Hervey) for bullying early on in the show. While he only appeared briefly Brian made an impact. So when he was suddenly killed, everyone was shaken.
As revealed in the pilot, Dean's brother is the one in Vietnam instead of Winnie’s in The Wonder Years 2021 TV revival. Assuming this new version will follow a similar arc to its predecessor, the unnamed Williams' son could also die in the war. Supposedly, this should have a bigger emotional impact on the show since he's Dean's family. Yet, this potential twist could fall flat simply because there's barely anything known about the character; he hasn't even physically appeared on the show yet. If he died offscreen, it's not going to feel as devastating as when the original show revealed Brian was killed on the ground. In the event the current iteration of The Wonder Years takes a different story path, the Williamses could see their middle child come home after the war. However, to be able to give a somewhat similar social commentary on what transpired in Vietnam, the ABC show could see him struggling with PTSD and settling back in his old life in the States instead.
The original The Wonder Years was special because it was able to seamlessly blend comedy and drama, incorporating topical happenings with the pains and pleasures of growing up in a typical American suburbia. The revival must deliver on these same elements, otherwise, it would ultimately be a letdown. That doesn't mean that it needs to simply mimic what its predecessor did. So while the series has set up its Vietnam-centric narrative wrong, the showrunners could still craft an entirely different, but still relevant story.