‘The Wonder Years’ star fired from reboot over misconduct claims
Fred Savage, the former child star of the television comedy “The Wonder Years,” has been fired as an executive producer and director of a reboot of the show after allegations of “inappropriate conduct,” the studio behind the new series said in a statement Saturday.
“Recently, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Fred Savage, and as is policy, an investigation was launched,” the statement from 20th Television said. “Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his employment as an executive producer and director of ‘The Wonder Years.’ ”
The studio did not provide additional details. Representatives for Savage did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Savage, 45, was a child when the original “The Wonder Years” premiered in 1988 on ABC. The comedy — a nostalgic look back at 1968 from the vantage of 1988 —aired until 1993.
The new version of the show premiered in 2021 on ABC, this time focusing on a Black family in Montgomery, Ala., in the 1960s, with Don Cheadle serving as the narrator.
Savage has faced accusations of misconduct in the past.
A costume designer for the show filed a sexual harassment suit in 1993 against Savage, then 16, and Jason Hervey, then 20 and an actor on the show.
Representatives for Savage and Hervey had denied those claims, the Los Angeles Times reported.
That same year, Savage was also accused of creating a hostile work environment and being verbally abusive in a lawsuit filed by a costume designer on his Fox television series “The Grinder.” Savage denied the allegations, and the suit was later dismissed, according to the Hollywood Reporter.