In this week's edition of "You're Old AF," Winnie Cooper herself just gave us a harsh reminder about time's fleeting nature. Danica McKellar, who famously played the girl-next-door childhood crush of young Kevin Arnold on the ABC sitcom The Wonder Years, took to social media to celebrate the 36th anniversary of the beloved show, and in doing so she made us confront our own mortality.
The actress has been known to post sweet snaps of her time on the '60s-set series over the years, from old TV Guide covers to throwback pics of herself with co-stars Fred Savage and Josh Saviano, and her latest Instagram tribute was no exception:
The post shows a then tween-aged McKellar and Savage as their famous characters, Winnie Cooper and Kevin Arnold. They would star as love interests for six highly acclaimed seasons of the coming-of-age comedy, which won an Emmy and a Peabody for its depiction of a middle-class family in the American suburbs. The show ran from 1988 until it was shockingly canceled in 1993. It's honestly hard to comprehend that the show has been off the air for over three decades.
McKellar captioned the nostalgic post:
Wow... 36 years ago? Really?? 😋 Happy 36th Anniversary to The Wonder Years, an incredibly special series to which I am eternally grateful - for everything it has meant to so many...! Share your favorite stories about the show below. 💕💕 #TheWonderYears #KevinAndWinnie #WinnieCooper #childactors #memories 💕📺
And, adorably, the romantic feelings between young Winnie and Kevin apparently weren't just for the small screen—McKellar admitted to crushing on her The Wonder Years co-star while they were making the show. As she revealed during an appearance at '90s Con last year:
I have to mention: after the first kiss, the first take, the entire crew and our parents and everyone applauded. Imagine that. Imagine being 12 and having your first kiss. And I was so nervous. And I was so excited. I had a huge crush on Fred at the time.
The duo seemingly never dated but The Wonder Years writers would eavesdrop on their conversations to get inspiration for Winnie and Kevin scenes, like that memorable “Do you like him, or do you like him, like him?” moment.
Despite playing such an iconic TV role, McKellar took a long break from acting following her The Wonder Years run to attend UCLA, where she graduated with a degree in mathematics. However, she dipped her toe back in the Hollywood pool with guest-star roles on series like The West Wing, The Big Bang Theory and alongside her former co-star Fred Savage on Working. Nowadays, the actress is best known for a slew of holiday Hallmark Channel movies, including Crown for Christmas, My Christmas Dream and Christmas at Dollywood, among many others.
So, while it's hard to comprehend that it's been three decades since The Wonder Years, McKellar's resume proves otherwise, because she's been working incredibly hard.
Though it's absolutely terrifying how quickly 36 years have flown by, it's always sweet to see much-deserved love for one of the best shows of all time, so it's cool with us if Danica wants to post more of those adorable Winnie-and-Kevin throwbacks. And if you want to be further transported back to your youth, you can watch all six seasons of The Wonder Years with a Hulu subscription.
