Young Sheldon‘s Cooper family is sweeter than their The Big Bang Theory counterparts and executive producer Steve Holland has a good explanation for why. In an effort to capitalize on the popularity of the nerd-centric sitcom, CBS greenlit the prequel series that explores Sheldon’s childhood living in Texas. The decision soon proved to be the right one as Young Sheldon has now become TV’s #1 comedy several years since The Big Bang Theory wrapped up.
In Jessica Radloff’s The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Inside Story of The Hit Story, Holland explains why the Coopers are so much nicer in Young Sheldon than when they first appear in The Big Bang Theory. According to the producer, it boils down to Sheldon’s changing perception of his family as he grows older. Read Holland’s full answer below:
“We don’t want to undo anything we’ve done, but… sometimes the reason Sheldon’s family seems sweeter on Young Sheldon than on Big Bang Theory is these are stories being told by an older Sheldon who has kids of his own, and it gives him a greater appreciation of his dad through a different lens. We’re still trying to adhere to tentpole canon, but it gave us some wiggle room to tell these stories in a slightly different way as we move forward. And we’ve never said how old Sheldon is as the narrator in Young Sheldon, but we figure he has a couple of kids who are probably the age he is in Young Sheldon, who are probably ten or eleven, which means he’s probably in his fifties. We’ve never said canonically, but that’s sort of in our head.”
How Young Sheldon’s Coopers Will Eventually Become Their Big Bang Theory Counterparts
