Young Sheldon Spinoff Confirmed After Series Ends (& There Will Be One Major Difference)
Young Sheldon is ending, but a new spinoff is in the works of Big Bang creator Chuck Lorre and producer Steve Holland — with one huge difference.
With the end of Young Sheldon looming, a new spinoff is moving forward. It was announced late last year that the hit comedy, a spinoff of The Big Bang Theory, would conclude with its upcoming seventh installment. Explaining the decision to wrap up Young Sheldon with season 7, which debuted on CBS in 2017, with Iain Armitage in the titular role, franchise creator Chuck Lorre explained the story had arrived at a natural endpoint.
Young Sheldon will continue to have a presence on CBS nonetheless, as Deadline reports that a Young Sheldon spinoff is in the works at the network. The new project, hailing from Lorre and executive producers Steve Holland and Steven Molaro, will focus on the characters of Georgie Cooper and Mandy McAllister. They’re portrayed, respectively, by Montana Jordan and Emily Osment. The reporting notes that the new project is a multi-camera, unlike the single-cam Young Sheldon, which means it will have a live audience component or a laugh track. If deals with Jordan and Osment are finalized, the spinoff could get a 13-episode order for the 2024-25 broadcast season.
How Will Young Sheldon’s Georgie & Mandy Spinoff Work?
Jordan has been with the CBS show from the start as Sheldon and Missy’s older brother, George Marshall “Georgie” Cooper Jr. He dropped out of school at the age of 17 to work full-time at his grandmother’s laundromat. It’s there that he meets Mandy (Osment) in season 5. Though he related to Mandy about his age, claiming he was 21, she eventually trusted him. The pair’s baby daughter is born in season 6, and the new parents get married in the Young Sheldon season 6 finale.
It is known in The Big Bang Theory, where Jerry O’Connell plays Georgie, that Sheldon’s older brother is twice divorced. Still, Deadline mentions that producers could take liberties with the Big Bang Theory canon. It’s also noted that if Sheldon appears in the prequel, he would be played by Armitage, as opposed to Jim Parsons. The same is reportedly true for other characters like Mary, who would be played by Young Sheldon’s Zoe Perry, not TBBT’s Laurie Metcalf. This has not been confirmed by the producing team, however.
Likely because of its single-cam nature, Young Sheldon was able to go to dark places, leading to praise from critics but also an occasionally divided audience response. Considering that it’s a multi-cam, the upcoming Georgie and Mandy spinoff may be a little lighter on its feet and a return to something closer to the original The Big Bang Theory.
