All the Characters Linking The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, & Georgie & Mandy md13

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Since its 2007 debut, The Big Bang Theory has evolved into an ever-expanding franchise. The small-screen success resulted in two prequel series, Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. The former follows the story of quirky genius Sheldon Cooper navigating the world as a teenager, while the latter is its direct sequel that looks at Sheldon’s older brother Georgie and the first (of many) marriages referenced in the original sitcom. Currently, there’s also another untitled sequel spin-off in the works.

Consequently, as the stories continue to stretch beyond the first show and its cast, new characters have been added to the beloved Big Bang Theory universe, along with entirely divergent premises. Additionally, because of the franchise’s timeline jumps, including the same people across shows has proven to be a challenge. As a result, despite all the characters being connected to each other in the same reality, only four of them actually appear in all three of the released offshoots.

Meemaw: Sheldon Cooper’s Grandmother is Easy to Include

When it comes to inserting original characters in prequel spin-offs, the older they are the better. It gives showrunners room to write about everything that led up to the point in their lives where they’re first introduced to viewers. Thus, adding Sheldon Cooper’s Meemaw to all three series, who’s been around throughout the entirety of his life, was an effortless choice.

In The Big Bang Theory, Meemaw is portrayed by Thelma’s June Squibb as an overprotective, though loving, grandmother to Sheldon. Initially mentioned in the show through a series of letters to her “Moonpie” that Penny finds, Meemaw makes her on-screen debut in Season 9. During her appearance, she visits her grandson and butts heads with Amy after the couple broke up and reconciled in earlier episodes.

Although Squibb’s character was only a guest star, Meemaw’s background is more thoroughly fleshed-out in the first offshoot, Young Sheldon. Played by Ghostbusters’ Annie Potts, audiences get to know Meemaw during Sheldon’s upbringing as a fun-loving and caring grandmother, whose trouble with the law foreshadows her eventually muted personality. After Young Sheldon‘s ending, Potts reprised her role a couple of times in its sequel-prequel Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. However, she isn’t currently a primary character on the show.

Missy: The Forgotten Twin Sister

In season one of The Big Bang Theory, showrunners introduced a classic character trope: the polar-opposite twin. Missy, initially played by Courtney Henggeler (Cobra Kai), surprises the gang as Sheldon’s emotionally mature, charming, and adaptable fraternal twin sister — the inverse of his social ineptitude and rigid thinking. Despite her fan-favorite status, Missy only appeared in the sitcom twice: in her season one debut and a decade later for Sheldon and Amy’s wedding.

Similar to Meemaw, Missy later became a main character in Young Sheldon. The role was taken over by up-and-coming actress Raegan Revord for the prequel, adding a spunky personality and plot foil to her gifted twin brother. Although audiences get to see a lot more of her in this spin-off, the character is rarely the focus and often lost in its storytelling. However, mostly being pushed into the background stays true to the neglected-sibling role because her parents, George (Lance Barber) and Mary (Zoe Perry), frequently ignored her as well while prioritizing Sheldon.

After the show came to an end, Revord’s Missy also made two guest appearances in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. Moving forward, viewers can expect to see her again in a supporting role, but it’s unclear whether we’ll ever see a Missy-centered spin-off in the future.

Mary: The Cooper Family Matriarch

Before Meemaw, Missy, or any other Cooper family members were introduced on The Big Bang Theory, viewers met Sheldon’s mother Mary, portrayed by Tony-award-winning actress Laurie Metcalf. Additionally, she has made the largest number of guest appearances throughout the series’ run. By the time its final episode aired and Young Sheldon was set to debut in its place, the described “religious nut” Mary had become a well-known character.

Since the follow-up prequel was set decades in the past, Mary’s role was recast with Zoe Perry (Metcalf’s daughter) taking over the reins. During Young Sheldon’s seven seasons, fans got to see more sides to her that weren’t shown in The Big Bang Theory, like the relationships with her other two children, Georgie and Missy, as well as the challenge of raising a child like Sheldon. Perry’s Mary has since appeared in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage twice, and is confirmed for another cameo before the first season ends.

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