Nostalgia and Teen Spirit Abound in New ‘Wonder Years’ Reboot Trailer

ABC has released the first full trailer for its upcoming reboot of The Wonder Years, which is set to premiere September 22nd.

The series starts in 1968 — the same year the original Wonder Years began — and tells the story of a black family in Montgomery, Alabama, centering around their 12-year-old son, Dean. Dean is played in the show by Elisha “EJ” Williams, while Don Cheadle narrates as grown-up Dean.

The new trailer offers a glimpse at how the show will try to balance adolescent growing pains with broader issues like integration and racism. Cheadle’s Dean sums it up in the opening moments of the clip, saying, “It’s weird to grow up in a time when your mom and dad have to give you the ‘police talk,’ or when a presidential election creates a racial divide. But it was 1968, the year I turned 12 — the age of locker rooms, bullies, and girls.”

Along with Cheadle and Williams, The Wonder Years will star Dulé Hill, Saycon Sengbloh, and Laura Kariuki. Filmmaker Lee Daniels served as an executive producer along with the original show’s star, Fred Savage, who directed the pilot.