The mega hit sitcom “Young Sheldon” dominated streaming last month to become the far and away most-watched title across any platform, new Nielsen data shows, an accolade that comes a month before the debut of the “Big Bang Theory” prequel’s seventh and final season on CBS.
“Young Sheldon,” which is available to stream on Netflix, Max, Paramount+ and other services with a premium subscription, was watched for a total of 6.7 billion minutes from Nov. 27 to Dec. 31—almost twice as many minutes as the most-streamed title of November.
Netflix original movie “Leave the World Behind,” the second most-streamed title of December, was streamed for 4.5 billion viewing minutes on the platform in the same five week period, according to Nielsen.
“Young Sheldon,” which follows the star of “The Big Bang Theory,” Sheldon Cooper, in adolescence, will premiere its final 14-episode season on Feb. 15 and its season finale will be broadcast on CBS May 16.
In addition to the upcoming finale, reports of a spin-off starring Montana Jordan and Emily Osment, who play Cooper’s brother Georgie and his girlfriend Mandy, respectively, have been picking up steam in the last week.
The spin-off would be executive produced by “Young Sheldon’s” Steve Holland, Steven Molaro and Chuck Lorre, Variety reported Friday, and would be a multi-camera comedy, marking the first time a multi-cam sitcom was spun off to a single-camera comedy, then spun back to another multi-camera show.
“The Big Bang Theory” aired on CBS from 2006 to 2019. The show followed a group of four super-smart friends—all scientists—as they progressed in their jobs, formed relationships and enjoyed fandoms like “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” and the Marvel universe. The show’s star, Sheldon Cooper played by Jim Parsons, was known for his prodigious mind and struggles navigating social situations. “Young Sheldon” premiered in 2017, before the end of its predecessor, and follows the character’s home life in rural Texas starting when he is 9 years old, two years before he starts college. It made stars not only of the adolescent Sheldon, but of his siblings, parents and grandmother, whose roles have grown with each season. “The Big Bang Theory,” which has an 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, enjoyed massive commercial success and was nominated for more than 200 awards. It won dozens, including four Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Jim Parsons. Its guest stars over the years included Bob Newhart, Christine Baranski, Steve Wozniak, James Earl Jones, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Bill Nye. “Young Sheldon” has been met with a similar audience reception—it has an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes—but has not had the same record with awards. The show has received no Emmy Award nominations—it was considered a snub when then 10-year-old star Iain Armitage didn’t get a nomination for Best Comedy Actor in 2018— but has been nominated for dozens of Critics Choice Awards.
