'Wonder Years' reboot, 'Winning Time' both canceled after two seasons

ABC’s reboot of the nostalgic 1960s-set family seriocomedy “The Wonder Years” and HBO’s period sports drama “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” each have been canceled after two seasons.

The 2021 reboot of “The Wonder Years,” featuring the voice of Don Cheadle narrating about his character’s childhood in 1960s Montgomery, Alabama, was not renewed by ABC, according to trade reports Friday. The network has not commented.

“Be cool…. when chapter ends, another begins,” posted star Dulé Hill, who plays patriarch Bill Williams, on X, formerly Twitter. “Congrats to [series creator Saladin K. Patterson], this talented cast and our amazing crew on bringing this beautiful story to our TV screens for the last two seasons. Grateful. What’s next?”

“I’m still processing, to be honest,” wrote Patterson Saturday in a long Instagram post, saying in part, “But I owe it to the amazing writers, cast and crew that walked in their God-given gifts everyday to help make this show one I will be proud of for the rest of my life.” He went on to personally thank a host of the actors and others, adding, “To the amazing department heads — you are the best of the best. The two biggest compliments I never got tired of hearing were: 1) We watch this show together as a family, and 2) Thank you for showing the positive side of our experience. I pray that God’s purpose was fulfilled.”

Additionally, the pay-cable network HBO did not formally announce the end of its critically acclaimed but low-rated series about the professional and personal lives behind the legendary NBA franchise, based on Jeff Pearlman’s book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.” Co-creator Max Borenstein posted on X confirmation of cancellation rumors Sunday, after the finale episode, writing, “Not the ending that we had in mind. But nothing but gratitude and love.”

Salli Richardson Whitfield, one of the show’s executive producers, who directed five of the series’ 17 episodes, that same night posted a photo on Instagram of the locker-room set with someone lying on the floor and wrote, “When you give it everything you’ve got, you can have no regrets. I hope you enjoy the last episode of @winningtimehbo I am sure I will do many more hours of TV and hopefully many features in my future, but I can say that at this moment in time I am most proud of the work we did on this masterful show.”

Author Pearlman had sounded warnings about the possibility, posting on X in August, “I'm telling you — the future of ‘Winning Time’ hangs in the balance. We need viewers. The [actors and writers] strikes are crippling. Please help spread the word. Season 2 is amazing. But ... HBO is big on #s.”

He followed up on Sept. 6, writing, “I'll be blunt: ‘Winning Time; is fighting hard to survive. Viewership keep going up, up, up. But if you want HBO to renew it and keep it going (and not have it … end with Boston winning), we need views. Seriously. It's the best show on TV. But #s matter."