ABC resisted the urge to choose violence this week, opting instead to issue five TV renewals this afternoon—even as the death screams of all the shows axed by The CW yesterday continue to linger in the air. Specifically, the network has opted to save comedies The Wonder Years, The Conners, and Home Economics, as well as dramas Big Sky and A Million Little Things.
Renewal of The Wonder Years comes in the wake of some tumult (sumult) on the nostalgic revival series, with executive producer and frequent director Fred Savage recently fired from the series after an investigation into inappropriate behavior on the show’s set. The series stars Elisha “EJ” Williams as Dean, a young Black man growing up in a middle-class family in late-1960s Alabama, and Don Cheadle as his adult self/narrator.
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Meanwhile, The Conners and A Million Little Things are both now set for fifth seasons (although the math for the former doesn’t count the first season of the Roseanne revival that the series is a functional continuation of). A Million Little Things centers on a friend group that’s forced to re-evaluate their lives after one of their pals unexpectedly commits suicide.
Rounding out the televisual benevolence, both Big Sky and Home Economics will be back for third seasons, the former with new series star Jensen Ackles in tow, the latter continuing to explore the lives of a trio of siblings (Topher Grace, Caitlin McGee, Jimmy Tatro) operating at very different points on the socioeconomic ladder.
As THR notes, this is a very merciful slate of renewals for ABC, which is on track to only have killed off three series this year. (Queens and Promised Land both ended with their first seasons, while Black-ish bowed out as previously planned with 8.) The clemency stands in stark contrast to the aforementioned CW, which geared up for upfronts by taking a chainsaw to large portions of its schedule earlier this week.
