Fred Savage fired from ‘The Wonder Years’ reboot
“THE Wonder Years” star Fred Savage has been fired as the executive producer and director of the reboot of the 1980s sitcom following an investigation into claims of misconduct.
A spokesperson for 20th Television, which produces the new version of the series, confirmed Saturday in a statement to The Washington Post that Savage, 45, was terminated over “allegations of inappropriate conduct.”
“Recently, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Fred Savage, and as is policy, an investigation was launched,” it read.
“Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his employment as an executive producer and director of ‘The Wonder Years.’ “
Representatives for Savage did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment from The Post.
Savage became known for his role in the original “The Wonder Years” series as Kevin Arnold, a teenage boy learning about life in the late 1960s and early 1970s in middle-class suburbia.
Savage went on to direct TV series such as “Modern Family” and produce episodes for shows such as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
Most recently, he was directing and producing the “The Wonder Years” reboot, which started airing on ABC last fall.
It stars Elisha “EJ” Williams as Dean Williams, a young Black boy growing up in a middleclass family in Montgomery, Ala., during the same time period as the original series.
Initially, Savage did not agree to have a hand in the new show.
“I had to kind of get over myself a bit and realize that we were telling a new story,” he told the Hollywood Reporter.
The details of the recent allegations against Savage were not immediately known, but Savage has faced other allegations of misconduct in the past.
In 1993, a former costume designer on the set of “The Wonder Years” filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against then-16-year-old Savage and his co-star Jason Hervey, who played Wayne Arnold, claiming the two physically and verbally harassed her, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.
Savage denied those accusations and the lawsuit was settled out of court.
In 2018, a costume designer from Fox’s “The Grinder” sued Savage and Fox for assault, discrimination and gender harassment, claiming Savage once hit her arm while she was dusting his suit on set and that he created a toxic work environment for women.
The Hollywood Reporter reported at the time that after an investigation, Fox said it found no evidence of wrongdoing and vowed to “vigorously defend” him against the claims.
Savage is not the first celebrity to be terminated from a reboot series.
Not long after the popular sitcom series “Roseanne” was revived in 2018, it was canceled, and its star, Roseanne Barr, was fired over a racist tweet comparing Valerie Jarrett, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, to an ape.
A spinoff series without Barr, “The Conners,” was launched, and the show has run for four consecutive seasons. — The Washington Post