Black Remake of ‘the Wonder Years’ Set for fall Debut

Courtesy ABC

When times are tough people turn to the past for comfort.

So, it should come as no surprise that this fall’s upcoming primetime lineup is leaning on it to bring in viewers — and among the reboots and reimaginings slated to premier in 2021 is an effort to put a relevant racial spin on an all-time classic.

ABC’s “The Wonder Years” exchanges the white family from the original coming-of-age sitcom that ran from 1988 to 1993 with a black one in what the series creators call “a nostalgic look at a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama, through the point of view of imaginative 12-year-old Dean.”

Fred Savage who starred in the original series, set in the late 60s and early 70s, as its young protagonist Kevin (Danie Stern served as narrator/adult Kevin), serves as an executive producer on the project alongside creator Saladin K. Patterson, Lee Daniels and Marc Velez.

Saladin who wrote the pilot and grew up in Montgomery — Savage handles directing duties — told the Montgomery Advertiser the series will be “be a love letter to Montgomery, about Montgomery and the people of Montgomery.”

Up-and-comer Elisha “EJ” Williams anchors the cast as 12-year-old Dean Williams, with renowned actor Don Cheadle taking on the roles of narrator and adult Dean. Montgomery, a key location during the United States civil rights movement will also play an important role.

“We want to really take the opportunity to show a part of Black, middle-class life that had not been seen before. Usually, when you talk about the late ’60s, it’s talking about the struggle in the civil rights movement and things like that, that are very valid and a part of our story as well,” said Patterson during the show’s Television Critics Association press tour panel on Aug. 26. “The difference between now and the late ’90s, early 2000s does not seem to be as different as when the original came out and you were looking from ’88 to ’68. And so, we really gravitated towards sticking to the universe — ‘The Wonder Years’ universe — and sticking to that original time, really looking at this Black, middle-class perspective during that time because we haven’t really seen that represented on TV and film before,” he continued.

The show is set to debut on September 22nd, and as a lead-up to the premiere stars of the original, including Savage and Danica McKellar (who played his love interest Winnie Cooper) will make guest appearances across some of ABC’s biggest hits including “The Goldbergs” and “The Conners.”

OnlyFans Reverses Porn Ban Following Outcry

Less than a week after declaring that sexually explicit content would no longer be welcome on the

platform starting October, OnlyFans made an about-face today declaring on its official Twitter site that it "stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators."

The email sent out by OnlyFans prohibiting explicit content. 

Thank you to everyone for making your voices heard.

We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change.

OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators.

— OnlyFans (@OnlyFans) August 25, 2021

It was a stunning reversal for the content subscription service, which cited banks as the main reason for the decision to cut off the site's large contingent of sex workers from their major source of revenue in an interview with Financial Times:

The change in policy, we had no choice — the short answer is banks," Tim Stokely, the company's CEO, said, adding that banks have refused to work with the company due to "reputational risk," alluding to the many OnlyFans users who sell explicit content on the subscription-based platform.

OnlyFans has frequently run into issues due to financial institutions "flagging and rejecting" transactions, which ultimately led to their decision to move forward without X-rated content, he explained.

"This decision was made to safeguard [our users'] funds and subscriptions from increasingly unfair actions by banks and media companies — we obviously do not want to lose our most loyal creators.

The OnlyFans community would not be what it is today without you.

The policy change was necessary to secure banking and payment services to support you.

We are working around the clock to come up with solutions.#SexWorkIsWork

— OnlyFans (@OnlyFans) August 21, 2021

Following an immediate outcry from both fans, supporters, and advocates critical of the move because they believe it puts sex workers at risk, OnlyFans has suspended the planned policy change. An email sent out to creators said, "The proposed 1 October 2021 changes are no longer required, due to banking partners' assurances that OnlyFans can support all genres of creators. OnlyFans is committed to providing a sage and dependable platform for all creators and their fans."

Former Football Star Herschel Walker to Campaign for Georgia Senate Seat

Herschel Walker 

One of the greatest running backs in college football history has decided to tote the ball for the Republican Party in an effort to lead it to victory in one of its most important contests in recent history.

Herschel Walker, the 59-year-old who won the Heisman and was a three-time All-American while playing at the University of Georgia in the early 80s, filed paperwork Tuesday to enter U.S. Senate race in Georgia, in a bid to defeat and unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in 2022.

The move ends month of speculation whether-or-not the longtime Republican, former NFL star, Olympian (Walker competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, as a member of the United States' bobsleigh team), mixed martial artist and chicken tycoon —would enter the race against Warnock, the pastor of Georgia’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, whose slim victory over Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a closely watched runoff election, helped give control of the Senate to Democrats in January.

Walker, a longtime Texas resident who registered to vote in Georgia Aug. 17 using an Atlanta residence owned by his wife Julie Blanchard prior to filing Federal Election Commission papers declaring his candidacy, kept mum following the move which seems to have been motivated by former President Donald Trump.

The two are longtime allies. Walker, who played for a team owned by Trump early in his career and appeared on the real estate mogul’s Celebrity Apprentice reality show was a fixture at MAGA rallies and came to the defense of his good friend against claims of racism following the racial unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd, a black man, by Minneapolis police in 2020.

“People who think that don’t know what they’re talking about,” Walker said. “Growing up in the Deep South I've seen racism up close. I know what it is, and it isn’t Donald Trump.”

Herschel Walker: "It hurts my soul to hear the terrible names that people call Donald. The worst one is 'racist.' I take it as a personal insult that people would think I would have a 37-year friendship with a racist." #RNC2020 #RepublicanConvention pic.twitter.com/igTALvteaL

— The Hill (@thehill) August 25, 2020

In March Trump issued a statement urging Walker to run. 

“Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the legendary Herschel Walker ran for the United States Senate in Georgia?” Trump said. “He would be unstoppable, just like he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, and in the NFL. He is also a GREAT person. Run Herschel, run!” 

In June the ex-president doubled down, telling The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, replacements for the recently deceased Rush Limbaugh, that Walker told him he would run when the two dined together and added, “He’s a great guy. He’s a patriot. He’s a very loyal person. They love him in Georgia, I’ll tell you.”

The name recognition Walker brings to the race is immense. Republicans would love to have a prominent black candidate to face off with the pioneering preacher, but Walker has some baggage that might impede his efforts beyond his last-minute return to the state of his birth just to run for office. 

The Associated Press reported “that a review of public records uncovered detailed accusations that Walker repeatedly threatened the life of his ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, by telling her relatives he would kill Grossman and her new boyfriend. Walker denied the accusations, but a judge granted a protective order in 2005 and for a time barred Walker from owning guns.”

In 2008, the AP added, Walker wrote a book that detailed his struggles with mental illness. He wrote that he'd been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, once known as multiple personality disorder. He said he constructed alternate personalities as a defense against bullying he suffered as a stuttering, overweight child.