Jason Hervey has said that his character, Wayne Arnold, was largely inspired by his real-life brother. He has even called his brother the true Wayne Arnold.
In one particular episode, Wayne is forced to pick up Kevin from the mall. Every time Kevin reaches for the door handle, Wayne lurches the car forward. Hervey has said his brother did this to him on his first day of 7th grade, intentionally embarrassing him in front of his classmates. How Rude!
Savage Was in Every Episode
Fred Savage was the only cast member to appear in all 115 episodes of the show. Alley Mills, Josh Saviano, and Jason Hervey who played Kevin’s older brother, Wayne, have the second-highest number of episodes under their belt at 113.
Surprisingly, Danica McKellar only appeared in 85 episodes even though she was consistently an essential part of the storyline.
The Show Was Almost a Film
The creators of "The Wonder Years" originally planned to write this story as a screenplay.
As a narrator’s perspective was never used in a sitcom before, it only made sense for their idea to be transformed into a movie. Fortunately, they took the risk and created the show we all know and love today!
Growing up Led to the Show’s Demise
As the main cast grew older, creators knew that the show would have to come to an end. Since "The Wonder Years" was a family show that aired at 8 p.m., they simply couldn’t address the kinds of subject matter that other sitcoms could.
With the show’s actors becoming teenagers right in front of their eyes, writers felt constricted with which subject matters they could address.
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.