Danica McKellar Celebrates 38 Years of THE WONDER YEARS’ Family Legacy

Published: February 4, 2026

By Mallory Mattingly

Danica McKellar celebrated the 38th anniversary of her hit show THE WONDER YEARS.

“Happy 38th (!) Anniversary to THE WONDER YEARS!” she celebrated on Instagram alongside a video featuring photos from the series. McKellar played Winnie Cooper for the entirety of the show’s run from 1988 to 1993.

“On January 31st, 1988, we premiered on ABC immediately following the Super Bowl, and my life would be forever changed,” the actress continued. “I’m so grateful for the incredible memories, but even more grateful for all of you who have followed my career for so many years. I love that, unlike 38 years ago, we have opportunities to connect through social media!”

“Something I hear repeatedly is that the show was so wholesome and brought so many families together. (And I feel so blessed to continue the legacy of family-friendly programming with the movies I write, produce, and star in on @greatamericanfamily & @greatamericanpureflix!)” McKellar continued. “Would love to hear your favorite memories of THE WONDER YEARS — favorite episode or scene or whatever! Let the nostalgia begin.”

View this post on Instagram

THE WONDER YEARS “tracks life in the turbulent late 1960s and early ’70s through the eyes of the increasingly less innocent Kevin Arnold. Narrated by an adult Kevin, the show follows him as he faces first love and the obstacles of life with best friend Paul,” a synopsis of the show reads. McKeller’s Winnie is Kevin’s crush-turned-girlfriend, per IMDB.

Alongside McKeller, the cast included Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold and Josh Saviano as Paul Pfeiffer.

In 2024, the cast met up at a WONDER YEARS reunion at the Fan Boy Expo in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“I have always been hesitant to do these types of events but after the encouragement of my cast mates’ family and the fact that this group of 6 hasn’t been together in the same room in at least 25 years, I couldn’t say no!” Saviano shared on social media. “The pics are from the last time most of us (minus Dan, who was working on a play…of course) were together in 2014. Looking forward to reconnecting with this fam and with meeting all of you. If you’re in the neighborhood, come by and say hi.”

View this post on Instagram

Savage continued his career in Hollywood; however, he moved behind the camera as a director. He was even part of a WONDER YEARS reboot.

“Lee Daniels’ company got the rights to THE WONDER YEARS, and they reached out to me several years ago, like, ‘We have this thing, we want to do it about a Black family.’ I was like, ‘I love the idea. I don’t think that’s my story to tell. But I’ll watch and support it,'” Savage explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Years passed, and I made a pilot that Saladin wrote. It didn’t ultimately go forward, but I made this bond with Saladin, and the next year he asks me to drinks and says, ‘I talked to Lee Daniels, and I’m going to be writing THE WONDER YEARS.’ And as I’d told Lee, I said, ‘I don’t know if that’s my story to tell, but you’re the guy to do it. You’ll be amazing.'”

“Saladin said, ‘I’m telling you that you have a place in this, and I’m not going to do it without you,'” Savage recalled. “So, we talked about it for a few weeks and, honestly, I had to kind of get over myself a bit and realize that we were telling a new story. Eventually, we moved forward with him being the narrative-driving force and me being the connection to the past, keeping the tone and the shape of it consistent with the original. That’s how it started, and we went out and pitched it together, and it’s been an incredible partnership.”

Based on fans’ adoring comments on McKellar’s post, it seems like THE WONDER YEARS left a lasting impact on viewers.

Questions or comments? Please write to us here.