Young Sheldon is an American television comedy on CBS created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro. The series is a spin-off prequel to The Big Bang Theory and follows the character Sheldon Cooper at the age of nine, living with his family in East Texas and going to high school. Iain Armitage stars as young Sheldon, alongside Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Montana Jordan, Raegan Revord, and Annie Potts. Jim Parsons, who portrays the adult Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, narrates the series and serves as an executive producer.
Development of the prequel series began in November 2016, from an initial idea that Parsons passed along to The Big Bang Theory producers. The following March, Armitage, and Perry were cast, and the series was ordered by CBS. The series premiered as a special preview on September 25, 2017, and two days later, CBS picked up the series for a full season of 22 episodes. On November 2, 2017, new episodes began airing weekly. In January 2018, CBS renewed the series for a second season.
Set in 1989, the series follows 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper as he attends high school in the fictional town of Medford, Texas and tries to fit in the world around him while his family and friends attempt to deal with his unique intellectual capabilities and social challenges.
Cast
Main
Iain Armitage as Sheldon Cooper, a child prodigy with a "once-in-a-generation mind capable of advanced mathematics and science". While well-versed in all types of math and science, he is shown to prefer theoretical physics, stating that he decided to pursue the field around the same time as the show began. While academically gifted, Sheldon lacks a full understanding of social cues and behaviors, in addition to having a sense of superiority over everyone around him due to his intelligence. Sheldon is prone to traveling his own path even if he gets into trouble along the way. Nevertheless, Sheldon has proven to love his family and almost always has his heart in the right place. Sheldon was 9 years old in the first season and then 10 in the second.
Jim Parsons provides the voice of adult Sheldon Cooper, who provides the perspective of an adult looking back at his childhood.
Zoe Perry as Mary Cooper, Sheldon's mother. She is very protective and patient with Sheldon but also struggles to understand him at times. Despite being a devout Christian and having to friction with Sheldon's atheism and derision of Christianity, she deeply loves her son and wants to protect him for as long as she can.
Lance Barber as George Cooper, Sr., Sheldon's father and the head football coach at Medford High. George does not share Sheldon's intellect, sometimes leading others, especially Meemaw, to doubt him being Sheldon's father. However, he is often the voice of reason for Sheldon. Though he may struggle with understanding his intellectually gifted son, he is a loving father and has defended Sheldon on multiple occasions, earning Sheldon's love and appreciation.
Montana Jordan as George "Georgie" Cooper Jr., Sheldon's older brother. Georgie detests Sheldon and never hesitates to bully him. He is not the brightest bulb where he is mocked and teased by the rest of the family, particularly Sheldon and Meemaw. While he is outwardly confident in himself, Georgie hides deep insecurities over feeling inferior to his genius brother and thus copes by trying to belittle Sheldon's intelligence in any way he can. He attends Medford High with Sheldon and plays on the football team.
Raegan Revord as Missy Cooper, Sheldon's fraternal twin sister. She teases Sheldon along with Georgie but not as much. She does not share Sheldon's intelligence but is very perceptive. She does not always get along with Sheldon, but she finds in her twin brother a solid confidant and has admitted to not feeling as whole without him. In episode 21 of season one, she asks her father to call her Melissa, implying that Missy is a nickname.
Annie Potts as Constance "Connie" Tucker, Sheldon, Missy, and Georgie's grandmother, whom they refer to as "Meemaw". She is very close with Mary and her grandchildren but does not think highly of George and often jokes about him. She is the most patient and understanding of Sheldon's quirks and advises her daughter Mary to trust that Sheldon will find his way.
Matt Hobby as Pastor Jeff (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2), the upbeat pastor at the Cooper family's church. Like Mary, he has friction with Sheldon's atheism, but he often challenges Sheldon to explore their line of thought through logic exercises. He was originally given the last name Hodgkins, but it was changed to Difford as of the episode "Seven Deadly Sins and a Small Carl Sagan".
Episodes
Main article: Young Sheldon episode list
Production
Development
Casting
Release
Broadcast airing
Young Sheldon began airing weekly episodes on CBS from November 2, 2017, after The Big Bang Theory. It premiered as a special preview on September 25, 2017.
Young Sheldon on Wikipedia
Young Sheldon at the Internet Movie Database
