IndieWire

Celebrities | Pop Culture | TV | 90s | 80s

The Truth Behind The Scandal That Led To 'The Wonder Years' Cancellation

IndieWire

We all remember the coming-of-age drama that highlighted the issues that a middle class family faced in the early 90s. It followed a young Kevin Arnold, played by Fred Savage, growing up in the suburbs, and won a ton of awards for it's relatable plot and new forms of storytelling.

However, the show was cut short after the 6th season, and no one was quite sure why the hit series was cancelled so soon.

Now, it's been revealed that the show met its end after a crew member accused then-16-year-old Fred Savage of constant sexual harassment.

The costume designer for The Wonder Years, Monique Long, filed a lawsuit in 1993, targeting Savage for behavior she deemed to be harassment, saying that she couldn't do her job because of him.

Long has said that the 16-year-old boy kept asking to hold her hand and made repeated sexual comments to her, including asking if they could have an affair.

A co-star from the show has recently gone to the media to reveal what they think really happened.

The lawsuit was brought up in an interview with Alley Mills, who played Norma Arnold, mother to Savage's character.

Mills has called the lawsuit "completely ridiculous" and that the cast was devastated when the show wasn't renewed for a seventh season because of the suit.

She said she was disappointed that the series was cancelled "because of some completely ridiculous sexual harassment suit that was going on against Fred Savage - who is like, the least offensive, most wonderful, sweet human being that ever walked the earth."

The suit was dropped in the Los Angeles Superior Court after an undisclosed settlement was paid out.

In the past Savage said that he was "completely exonerated" of the charges, and Mills believes that the studio settled to avoid a scandal.

Do you think Savage is guilty? Should we be looking at forgotten accusations of harassment like this again?

Let us know in the comments!