When Disney fired Fred Savage fromThe Wonder Yearsreboot over allegations of inappropriate conduct and abuse, that was a blow knowing his expertise in recapturing the show he once starred in. However, it appears those working on the show are ready to move forward without him, no matter how hard it’s going to be.
It’s important that those in show business who abuse their position of power have their wrongdoings brought to light. At the same time, when those same people play an instrumental part in a hit show, losing them is a blow. Now,The Wonder YearsshowrunnerSaladin K. Patterson has opened up about what happened with Savage
RELATED:Fred Savage Fired From The Wonder Years Reboot For Inappropriate Conduct
While he didn’t go into specifics regarding Savage or the allegations against him, Patterson relayed to The Hollywood Reporter that Savage’s firing took him by surprise. Nonetheless, he stressed that a quality series is run by multiple people, not by one, so they can transition to making theABCshow without Savage. “It was very difficult,” Patterson said. “But it’s something where we just have to focus on moving forward. As heartbreaking as that was, we are focusing on the fact that the show is bigger than any one person, me included, cast included, and focus on continuing to put out into the world the love and positivity from the show that we’ve been doing since day one.”
The one upshot is that Disney clearly still believes in the show in spite of Savage’s departure, as they recently renewed it shortly after Savage’s firing. Because of the nostalgia factor, and because ofthe minds that are behindThe Wonder Years, Disney clearly believes that this show will resonate with audiences at least for another year. Considering the show is about middle-class Black families in 1968 during a time of rampant racism, there’s a lot of material for them to go over. Not having Savage around may hurt production value knowing that he was once in the actor’s shoes, but as Patterson said, he’s just one man.
Nonetheless, regardless of what Savage may or may not have done, losing him could definitely hurt. He was basically the icon of the originalThe Wonder Years,so he may have had some very solid input at re-capturing the feel of the original show. Even though the young actors say they didn’t take much from his performance on the original show, maybe he influenced them to be better actors. The only way to know for sure will be when we see them again in season 2.
All in all, if someone is creating atoxic work environment, that cannot be ignored. It is always the right call to get rid of someone who is being inappropriate on the set, especially if that person has done something like that before on previous projects he’s been involved in. With any luck, those involved withThe Wonder Yearswill have better morale, which could in turn make the show better all-around. Plus, it’s not like there aren’t other actors around from the firstWonder Yearswho can help them if truly want to capture the spirit of the original show. If they’re truly struggling, who’s to say they can’t ask Danica McKellar or Daniel Stern for help?
