Fans Were Disappointed With the Ending
Many fans were disappointed with the series ending, specifically with the fact that Kevin and Winnie didn’t end up together. However, this was done intentionally to mirror real life as few people end up with their first love!
As we all do, the characters have fond memories from their adolescence, but it’s only natural for people to grow apart as they discover who they are.
David Chase Wrote an Episode
After some time on the air, "The Wonder Years" producer Ken Topolsky began to feel that the show was losing steam. To maintain viewer interest, he asked "Sopranos" creator David Chase to lend his skills to the show and write a script.
While it was said to be phenomenal and one of the best scripts ever written for the series, the content was found too mature for viewers. Little is known about the episode other than the fact that it included illegal substance abuse and was never used.
The Marilyn Manson Theory
There has been a long-time conspiracy theory that Josh Saviano grew up to become Marilyn Manson. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Likely Saviano’s disappearance from the limelight helped to contribute to these rumors, but they have long since been disproved. The conspiracy is so widely known that when Savage met Manson, the two joked about it!
They Aired The Beatles’ Ed Sullivan Appearance
"The Wonder Years" was the first sitcom to show footage from The Beatles’ appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show".
Unfortunately, the footage wasn’t used in the show very well and the overall episode was considered mediocre at best. It was so bad that the head of New World Entertainment, Jon Feltheimer, demanded his money back from producer Bob Brush.
Set 20 Years Earlier
Each episode of "The Wonder Years" took place almost exactly 20 years prior to its release date.
For example, the first episode premiered on January 31, 1988, and was set in the summer of 1968. This practice continued throughout the entire series!