After being skeptical about Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage since it was announced, an unexpected Young Sheldon update has convinced me to give it a fair shot. Having spearheaded The Big Bang Theory universe’s coverage for Screen Rant, I have closely followed any updates leading to Young Sheldon’s cancelation and its aftermath. While I think that Chuck Lorre and his team mainly did a great job wrapping up Sheldon’s childhood in Texas, I can confidently say that the series could have continued after seven seasons. There were still so many stories left to tell for the Coopers in Medford
My feelings about the matter were validated by Meemaw actor Annie Potts’ criticism of Young Sheldon‘s ending. Despite her comments, which were also backed by fans sharing the same sentiment, the prequel’s end moved forward. While the writers were busy mapping out how Sheldon’s time in his hometown would end, CBS was already working on a replacement series — a show that would be fronted by Montana Jordan and Emily Osment’s Georgie and Mandy. Coming into Young Sheldon season 7, unexpected lovers were engaged to be married. However, while I liked their story, I wasn’t totally sold on the idea.
Why I Was Initially Worried About Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Will Have Many Changes
I was skeptical of Georgie and Mandy’s sequel, which is officially titled Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. Just to clarify, however, none of them had anything to do with the cast’s acting abilities. My first concern stemmed from its format. Unlike Young Sheldon, which was a single-cam series, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage will have a multi-cam set-up. This means that it will film in front of a live audience and will have the controversial laugh track, just like The Big Bang Theory. Ideally, I would have wanted it to be like its parent series.
Having watched both The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, I prefer the latter simply because of how it had more nuanced storytelling. The prequel was able to expertly handle sensitive storylines and balance them with the right amount of humor, and I believe that being a single-cam show helped in this regard. Since Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is essentially Young Sheldon‘s sequel, I would have wanted it to keep the same format. Not only would it help in establishing uniformity, but it would also allow the follow-up to continue its parent series’ storytelling approach.
the Coopers will have minimal presence in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. Instead, Mandy’s family, the McAllisters will be the show’s extended clan. While I’m open to learning more about Jim, Audrey, and Connor, I would have wanted to see more of Mary, Missy, and Meemaw as they rebuild their lives after the unexpected death of George in Young Sheldon season 7. Finally, I wonder what the point of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is if we already know from The Big Bang Theory that they will eventually just split up.
I would just have wanted CBS to continue Young Sheldon by rebranding it to The Coopers. This way, it could have moved past George’s death and Sheldon’s move to California. In any case, it could still show Georgie and Mandy’s story while also tackling what lies ahead for the rest of the Cooper family in Texas. Going this route would have been a much safer option for Lorre and his writers, but they were adamant about wanting to do something different. Admittedly, I appreciated that, but that didn’t address my concerns about the series.
Luckily, Young Sheldon finale director (and countless other episodes) Alex Reid came out recently on Instagram to hype up the project. I don’t think he has been tapped to helm any of the episodes, but he said that he was working on something special attached to the project, hence why he has been able to see the show’s progress. In the caption, he wrote: Btw, the spinoff is seriously great. Funny but still with a ton of heart. If you miss Young Sheldon, don’t be sad; this show is here for you.
If he didn’t think that Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage lived up to the hype of its parent series, he [Reid] could not have said anything.
