Since the entertainment industry is showing no signs of slowing down its interest in the coveted “existing IP,” it’s time we started re-imagining classic movies and shows so that they make sense. If networks need to restart a classic like The years of wonders, wouldn’t it be more interesting to do it from another perspective? This is the thought process behind the upcoming reboot of the ABC series, which now follows the experience of a black family in Montgomery, Alabama, in the late 1960s.
Like the original series, the show is told from the perspective of an adult man reflecting on his childhood. However, replacing Daniel Stern, who narrated the life of Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) from 12 to 17 years in the original series, Don Cheadle manages voice-over tasks, commenting on the growing pains of Dean Williams (Elisha Williams). This perspective is key for series creator and executive producer Saladin K. Patterson said today the panel of the press tour of the Association of Television Critics of the program.
“We want to really take advantage to show a part of black middle class life that hadn’t been seen before,” Patterson said. “Usually when we talk about the late ’60s, we talk about the movement’s struggle for civil rights and things like that, which are very valid and are also part of our history.”
“The difference between now and the late 90s, early 2000s does not seem to be as different as when the original came out and was seen from 88 to 68. And so we have really gravitated to adhere to the universe. ..The years of wonders“universe, and attending to that original era, really looking at that black middle-class perspective during that time, because we hadn’t seen it on television and film before.”
The years of wonders opens on September 22nd.