The Wonder Years: Season Three — Has the ABC Comedy Series Been Cancelled or Renewed Yet?

(Photo by: ABC/Matt Sayles)

Vulture Watch

Can this scripted series draw viewers back to the network when viewership is typically low? Has The Wonder Years TV show been cancelled or renewed for a third season on ABC? The television vulture is watching all the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of The Wonder Years, season three. Bookmark it, or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you?  
 

What’s This TV Show About?

A coming-of-age comedy series airing on the ABC television network, The Wonder Years TV show was inspired by the original 1988 series. This incarnation stars Don Cheadle, Elisha “EJ” Williams, Dule Hill, Saycon Sengbloh, Laura Kariuki, Julian Lerner, Amari O’Neil, and Milan Ray. Guests in season two include Patti LaBelle, Wayne Brady, Tituss Burgess, Donald Faison, Phoebe Robinson, and Bradley Whitford. Set in the late 1960s, the series takes a nostalgic look at the Williams family — Black middle-class residents of Montgomery, Alabama. The story is told through the point of view of Dean (Williams), the imaginative 12-year-old son of Bill (Hill) and Lillian Williams (Sengbloh), and the younger brother of Kim (Kariuki). Dean’s friends include Cory (O’Neil), Brad (Lerner), and Keisa (Ray), Dean’s secret crush. Dean narrates the story, looking back at his childhood as an adult (Cheadle). His hopeful and humorous recollections of his past spotlight the ups and downs of growing up in that time and place and the friendship, laughter, and lessons Dean encountered along the way.
 

Season Two Ratings

The second season of The Wonder Years averaged a 0.21 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 1.78 million viewers. Compared to season one, that’s down by 50% in the demo and down by 25% in viewership in the live+same day ratings (includes DVR playback through 3:00 AM). While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. There can be other economic factors involved in a show’s fate, but typically the higher-rated series are renewed and the lower-rated ones are cancelled. Find out how The Wonder Years stacks up against other ABC TV shows.
 

Telly’s Take

Will ABC cancel or renew The Wonder Years for season three? The network opted to hold season two until summer, likely due to ABC having more comedies than timeslot vacancies. While viewership is lower in the warmer months, it may have been for the best, given the ongoing writers strike and the limited amount of available original scripted content. The series is produced “in-house” by another part of the Disney company (an important factor these days), so I think Wonder Years has a good chance of being renewed. Still, with these low ratings, I think a cancellation looks pretty likely. I’ll update this page with breaking developments. Subscribe for free alerts on The Wonder Years cancellation or renewal news.

9/16/23 update: The Wonder Years has been cancelled by ABC after two seasons.
 

The Wonder Years Cancellation & Renewal Related Links

• TV show ratings are still important. Follow Wonder Years’ weekly ups and downs.

• Check the rankings for other ABC TV shows.

• How do this show’s ratings compare to other channels’ TV shows?

• Find more The Wonder Years TV series news or other ABC TV show news.

• Explore the ABC status page and other TV show status pages.

• Check out our lists of already cancelled and ended TV shows.

What do you think? Were you hoping The Wonder Years TV show would be renewed for a third season? Are you sorry that ABC has cancelled this TV series instead?