Fred Savage, the former child star of the television comedy “The Wonder Years,” has been fired as executive producer and director of a reboot of the show following allegations of “inappropriate behavior,” the studio behind the new series said in a statement. on Saturday.
“We were recently made aware of allegations of inappropriate behavior by Fred Savage, and as is the policy, an investigation has been launched,” the statement from 20th Television said. “Upon its completion, a decision was made to terminate his employment as executive producer and director of ‘The Wonder Years’.”
The studio did not provide additional details on Saturday or immediately respond to follow-up questions. Mr Savage’s representatives did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment. Deadline announced the news of his dismissal on Friday.
mr. Savage, 45, was a kid when the original “The Wonder Years” premiered on ABC in 1988, kickstarting his career with his portrayal of suburban sunny high school student Kevin Arnold. The television comedy — a nostalgic look back at 1968 from a 1988 perspective — was acclaimed at the time and brought Mr. Savage two Emmy Award nominations on. The show aired until 1993.
A new version of the show premiered in 2021 on ABC, this time focusing on a black family in Montgomery, Ala., in the 1960s, starring Don Cheadle as the narrator.
Mr Savage told The Hollywood Reporter in January that he had reservations about restarting the show. But when he was presented with the idea of focusing it on a black family, he was on board.
“I had to kind of get over myself and realize we were telling a new story,” he said.
mr. Savage has been accused of misconduct in the past.
In 2018, Alley Mills, who is the television mother of Mr. Savage, Norma, starred in “The Wonder Years,” in an interview with Yahoo that a 1993 costume designer for the show filed a sexual harassment charge against then 16-year-old Savage. , and Jason Hervey, then 20 and an actor on the show who played the older brother, Wayne, alleging that the actors harassed her verbally and physically.
“It was so untrue,” Ms Mills said at the time, adding that the lawsuit had been a major factor in the show’s cancellation that year. “It was my dresser, and I don’t care if she’s listening — I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but I don’t care.”
Representatives for Mr. Savage and Mr. Hervey had denied those claims, the Los Angeles Times reported.
That same year, Mr. Savage was also charged with creating a hostile work environment and verbal abuse in a lawsuit filed by a costume designer for his Fox television series “The Grinder.” Mr Savage denied the charges and the lawsuit was later dismissed, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
