The more things change, the more they remain the same. That truth is certainly showcased on the new reboot of “The Wonder Years,” which debuted on ABC this past September. (The series is also streaming on Hulu, as is the 1988 original of the same name on which it is based.) Created by Saladin K. Patterson (who was behind “Psych”) and co-executive produced by OG “Wonder Years” star Fred Savage and Lee Daniels (of “Monster’s Ball” and “The Butler” fame), the reimagined coming-of-age tale takes place in Montgomery, Alabama, in the late 1960s. But instead of centering on the Arnolds, this time the story revolves around the Williams, a middle-class African American family headed up by Bill (Dulé Hill), a music professor by day/funk musician by night, and Lillian (Saycon Sengbloh), an account executive for the Department of the Treasury.
Narrated by Don Cheadle and told from the point of view of the Williams’ charming 12-year-old son, Dean (Elisha Williams), episode one begins with these sobering words, “Growing up, mom and dad gave me the police talk about how to handle yourself around cops. There was a presidential election that created a racial divide. And there was a flu pandemic that they said would kill a million people around the world. But it was 1968 and that’s the state our country was in. Yep, even the flu part!” Of those rather unsettling parallels with today’s world, Patterson told D23, “If we can look at the turbulent, divisive late ’60s as ‘wonder years,’ then one day, a future generation will look at the 2020s as their ‘wonder years.’ That means we can have hope that the turbulent, divisive issues of today will be solved in our collective future—just like they were solved in our collective past.”
Drawing on those parallels, the series also highlights the universality of adolescent strife. Despite the Arnold and Williams families’ vastly different backgrounds, young Dean faces many of the same woes as Kevin (Savage) did before him, including bullies, trouble with friends and the pain of unrequited love for the girl down the street.
While set in Alabama, filming largely takes place in the Atlanta, Georgia area, namely DeKalb County. Production designer Korey Washington, who was tasked with creating the look of the show’s pilot episode, expressed to the Decide DeKalb Development Authority, “After reading Saladin Patterson’s script, I knew DeKalb County, with its engaging four-sided brick homes and charming parks and neighborhoods, would be an ode to our southern community.” Location coordinator Girly Daniels furthered, “I can honestly say there is something very unique and special about DeKalb. It’s the people, the neighborhoods, even the businesses we worked with — we found almost everything we needed here.”
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Image Credit: Disney-ABC -
Image Credit: Google One spot the production team had to venture outside of DeKalb to find? The traditional residence that serves as the Williams family’s home, where Dean lives with his parents and sister, Kim (Laura Kariuki).
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Image Credit: Instagram Savage and Peterson came across the property while on a pre-production scouting mission for the series this past March, a process they documented on Instagram. During their hunt, which took them throughout the Atlanta area, the two zeroed in on a one-story brick and clapboard pad in Fulton County. Located about seven miles south of downtown ATL at 1226 Spencer Ave. in the city of East Point, the dwelling exudes the exact retro middle-class feel the duo was seeking to represent the Williams homestead. (Please remember this is a private house. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)
Situated on a 0.22-acre perfectly suburban parcel, the 1935 property features two bedrooms and one bath in a comfortable 1,706 square feet. It last sold for $66,000 in 1990 – when the original “Wonder Years” was still on the air! – but Redfin estimates its current worth to be just over $250,000. Because the place hasn’t changed hands in over three decades, though, MLS imagery of it is, unfortunately, nil. Thank goodness for Google Street View!
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Image Credit: Disney-ABC -
Image Credit: Google Washington made several changes to the pad’s exterior for “The Wonder Years” shoot, including painting the entire façade a vibrant yellow, giving the shutters a white hue, adding a carport to the driveway and installing a placard by the front door with a fake 1019 address number. Despite the extensive alterations, though, the place is still very recognizable from its current onscreen stint.
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Image Credit: Disney-ABC -
Image Credit: 20th Television The interior of the Williams home is a studio-built set, first created by Washington and then later revamped by Aiyana Trotter, who took over the production design reins from Korey once the series got picked up. Located on a soundstage at Eagle Rock Studios in Stone Mountain about 20 miles outside of Atlanta, the kitchen of said set is a definite throwback to the one featured on the original “Wonder Years” (which is pictured in the lower photo above) – right down to the yellow counters, corner bookcase and rounded peninsula! The more things change, the more they stay the same, indeed!