The Wonder Years is an American television comedy-drama created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC (American Broadcasting Company), from 1988 through 1993 and each season took place exactly twenty years before the then current year (thus the show takes place in 1968-73). The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABCs coverage of Super Bowl XXII.

The show achieved a spot in the Nielsen Top Ten (Nielsen ratings) for two of its six seasons. TV Guide named the show one of the 1980s 20 best. After only six episodes aired, The Wonder Years won an Emmy for best comedy series (Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series) in 1988. Moreover, at the age of 13, Fred Savage gained the honor of being the youngest actor ever nominated Outstanding Lead Actor for a Comedy Series (Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series). In addition, the show was awarded a Peabody Award (George Foster Peabody Award) in 1989, for achieving two seemingly contradictory effects: evoking a traditional family sitcom while pushing boundaries and using new modes of storytelling. In total, the series won 22 awards, and was nominated for a further 54 more. Modern critics point out the show was lucky to come at a time when, "baby boomers were grown up, and ready to watch themselves."

The shows theme is Joe Cockers cover of the Beatles song "With a Little Help from My Friends". The title of the show is adapted from a once widely-shown television commercial for Wonder Bread, in which viewers were urged to nourish their children with the product through their adolescence ("Wonder Years").