“I wanted to tell the deepest story that hopefully could relate to where we are today,” he said.

The original “Wonder Years” premiered on ABC in 1988. It starred Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold, a 12-year-old middle-class kid in 1968, also sailing into his teens as the America was coming of age. Amanda Ann Klein, a professor at East Carolina University, wrote with admiration on the show. But in a recent interview, she noted one problem: “A big hole was her ability to cope with the race,” she said. She was therefore delighted to see her principle applied to a black family.

“I don’t think you often see black Americans having the opportunity to be nostalgic,” she said.

Saladin K. Patterson, the showrunner of this new version, wanted to show how those same years could affect a loving middle-class black family. “We felt like it was going to be a story of strength, resilience and perseverance,” he said on a video call. He took inspiration from his own family story, molding Bill after his father, Bill Patterson, a musician and music director who spent his career next to stardom. He immediately thought of Hill.

“We wanted to make Bill character really cool, make him really good at what he does,” Patterson said. “And the real Dule is very cool, so he taps into a real place.”

Still, it took a bit of acting. “To be fair, his character on television is a bit more laid back than he is in real life,” said Elisha Williams, the 12-year-old actor who plays Bill’s son Dean. (He also called Hill “one of those cool guys because he’s been around for so long.” Ouch.)

Hill hopes this leg of her race teaches viewers something about the political upheavals of the 1960s – how they gave birth to the world we know today, how black love endured. And he hopes it will help him understand something about himself and the life he wants to give his children.

“When you play a black dad and you’re a black dad, the story is going to hold up a mirror to you,” he said. “It’s going to make you wonder about things, ‘Who am I in there? And who do I want to be? ‘ “