Wonder Years, The
Identification Television series
Date Aired from March 15, 1988, to May 12, 1993
Unlike other family sitcoms of the 1980’s,The Wonder
Yearswas a coming-of-age mixture of comedy and drama.
The show’s complex tone came in part from its setting in the
turbulent 1960’s.
The Wonder Yearswas primarily a show about the anxi-
eties of teenage life, but because of its context, it
uniquely appealed to both children growing up in
the suburbs in the 1980’s and their parents, who had
grown up twenty years earlier, during the era por-
trayed by the show. Although sitcoms likeCheersand
The Cosby Showdominated the ratings in the 1980’s,
The Wonder Yearsearned a place in the Nielsen top
ten for two of its seasons, and it won the Emmy Award
for best comedy in 1988.
The series followed the daily life of adolescent
Kevin Arnold (played by Fred Savage) in American
suburbia during the 1960’s, a time of extreme tur-
moil and change in the United States. Kevin strug-
gled with many of the typical complications of teen-
age life: acne, dating, conflicts with authority, fighting
with siblings, and trying to negotiate the difficult
transition from boyhood to manhood. Kevin repre-
sented the average American kid growing up in an
average suburb, and the show illuminated his rela-
tionships with his mother (played by Alley Mills), fa-
ther (played by Dan Lauria), brother Wayne (played
by Jason Hervey), hippie sister Karen (played by
Olivia d’Abo), best friend Paul (played by Josh
Saviano), and heartthrob Winnie (played by Danica
McKellar). Episodes were narrated in voice-over by
an adult Kevin (voiced by Daniel Stern), who re-
flected in the present about the past events por-
trayed in each episode.The Wonder Yearsdiffered
from such other 1980’s sitcoms asThe Cosby Show,
Married... with Children, andFamily Tiesin that Kevin
struggled through his adolescence against the back-
drop of large-scale social events such as the VietnamThe Eighties in America Wonder Years, The 1063
Cast members ofThe Wonder Yearscelebrate their Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series at the 1988 ceremony. From left: Alley Mills, Ja-
son Hervey, producer Jeff Silver, Josh Saviano, Olivia D’Abo, and Dan Lauria.(AP/Wide World Photos)