ABC unveils 2021-2022 Primetime slate including ‘The Wonder Years’ reboot and returning hit series’

Craig Erwich, President of Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment, today unveiled the ABC primetime schedule for the 2021-2022 season, featuring tentpole returning shows and bold, fresh new series. The network continues to deliver on its success as the season’s No. 1 entertainment network among Adults 18-49 for the second year in a row. This marks the first time the network has won back-to-back consecutive seasons in entertainment in 25 years. ABC also has three of the top five highest-rated entertainment series, the most for any network, with Grey’s Anatomy, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

“We are proud to continue to deliver highly entertaining, culturally relevant and powerful stories that further drive our momentum as the No. 1 entertainment network,” said Erwich. “We’ve also made it a priority to be intentionally inclusive across all of our content, and we’re excited to introduce our audience to the rich new characters, bold stories and strong ensemble casts featured in our upcoming programming slate.” 

Debuting this fall is the comedy reboot of The Wonder Years from Saladin K. Patterson (Dave, The Big Bang Theory), Lee Daniels (Empire, The United States vs. Billie Holiday) and original series star Fred Savage; and from Zahir McGhee (Scandal), the buzzed-about hip-hop drama series Queens, starring Eve, Naturi Naughton, Nadine Velazquez and Brandy, which will feature original music performed by cast members. 

Inspired by the beloved award-winning series of the same name, “The Wonder Years” is a coming-of-age story set in the late 1960s that takes a nostalgic look at a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama, through the point of view of imaginative 12-year-old Dean. With the wisdom of his adult years, Dean’s hopeful and humorous recollections show how his family found their “wonder years” in a turbulent time.

The Wonder Years stars Don Cheadle, narrating the series as adult Dean Williams, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Dean Williams, Dulé Hill as Bill Williams, Saycon Sengbloh as Lillian Williams, Laura Kariuki as Kim Williams, Julian Lerner as Brad Hitman, Amari O’Neil as Cory Long and Milan Ray as Keisa Clemmons. 

Saladin Patterson serves as writer and executive producer. Lee Daniels and Marc Velez of Lee Daniels Entertainment also executive produce along with original series star Fred Savage. The series is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios. The pilot episode is written by Saladin Patterson and directed by Fred Savage. 

Queens stars Eve as Brianna aka Professor Sex, Naturi Naughton as Jill aka Da Thrill, Nadine Velazquez as Valeria aka Butter Pecan, Taylor Selé as Eric Jones, Pepi Sonuga as Lil Muffin and Brandy as Naomi aka Xplicit Lyrics.  

Estranged and out-of-touch, four women in their 40s reunite for a chance to recapture their fame and regain the swagger they had as the Nasty Bitches – their ’90s group that made them legends in the hip-hop world.

Zahir McGhee, Sabrina Wind and Tim Story are executive producers. The series is produced by ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios. The pilot episode is written by Zahir McGhee and directed by Tim Story.

Returning series’ include America’s Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelorette, Big Sky, The Conners, Dancing with the Stars, The Goldbergs, The Good Doctor, Grey’s Anatomy, A Million Little Things, The Rookie, Shark Tank and Station 19 are also set to return this fall. 

Additionally, ABC’s newest critically acclaimed comedy, Home Economics, returns at its new time – Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT; and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune returns on a new night  – Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, followed by Supermarket Sweep at its new time, 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Groundbreaking Emmy-winning comedy black-ish will return in midseason for its eighth and final run.

The limited series Women of the Movement will premiere as a midseason event, shining a light on Emmett Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, whose fight for justice for her murdered son galvanized the civil rights movement. 

Freshman comedies Maggie and Abbott Elementary, as well as American Idol, will also debut midseason.

Additional midseason renewals and pickup decisions on the network’s remaining drama pilots will be made at a later time. 

Fall premiere dates will be announced soon.

ABC FALL PRIMETIME SCHEDULE (all times listed are Eastern/Pacific). New shows are in bold.

The Wonder Years photo: ABC/Erika Doss

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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