ABC’s The Wonder Years reboot, which received series pilot at the beginning of the year, has officially cast its narrator as Don Cheadle (Black Monday), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Cheadle will play the role of the show’s adult character, Dean, in the upcoming pilot, which will follow a Black family in Montogomery, Alabama in 1968.
The 1988 drama released six total seasons and centered around the 1960s and 1970s from the perspective of Kevin Arnold, played by Fred Savage (Little Monsters), while Daniel Stern (Home Alone) served as the original adult narrator. Similar to the mothership show’s casting, 12-year-old Dean will be played by Elisha “EJ” Williams (Henry Danger). He is described as an “inquisitive and hopeful kid coming of age in turbulent time and trying to figure out his place both within his family and in the larger world,” by The Hollywood Reporter. Voiced by Cheadle, the adult version of Dean will be looking back at his childhood as a new grandfather.
The show previously cast Dulé Hill (Psych) and Saycon Sengbloh (Funny Times) as Dean’s parents and Laura Kariuki (Black Lightning) as his older sister. Saladin K. Patterson (The Big Bang Theory) wrote the pilot and executive produces alongside Lee Daniels (The United States vs. Billie Holliday) and Neal Marlens (Growing Pains), who also serves as co-creator.
Currently starring in Showtime’s Black Monday, Cheadle has been nominated for multiple Oscar and Emmy awards and is also known for playing James Rhodes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His other credits include Showtime’s House of Lies, the Ocean’s franchise, and Devil in a Blue Dress. Further announcements regarding casting in The Wonder Years reboot are still yet to be made.