Young Sheldon Star On Spinoff Escaping Big Bang Theory's Shadow
Iain Armitage talks about Young Sheldon escaping The Big Bang Theory's shadow. It's been almost three years since the geek-centric sitcom wrapped up after 12 years. But its legacy continues with its first and only spinoff dominating the ratings charts and becoming CBS' premiere comedy. Now, Young Sheldon is set to celebrate an important milestone as the show releases its 100th episode this week.
Despite existing in the same universe, Young Sheldon's storytelling in its earlier seasons was mostly separate from the original show. Aside from sharing a lead character (Armitage portrays Sheldon in the spinoff, while Jim Parsons took on the role in The Big Bang Theory), there were barely any significant connections. But before The Big Bang Theory wrapped up in 2019, CBS tried to actively tie them together so fans of the original show become invested in its spin-off. It wasn't exactly a success right away, since long-time viewers of The Big Bang Theory didn't like that the offshoot has been contradicting its established continuity. But over time, Young Sheldon has also garnered its own loyal fan base which helps it get out of its parent series' shadow.
Armitage briefly talked about this in a special featurette for Young Sheldon's 100th episode. The clip, which was shared on Young Sheldon's official YouTube account, goes behind the scenes of the milestone outing, providing commentary from the cast as they look back on their journey. Armitage says that, at this point, viewers have grown to love the cast as they are, beyond their ties to The Big Bang Theory. Read his full comment below:
"We have such an amazing and loyal fanbase because of Big Bang, but also now in our own right because we've been going for five seasons and people started to really enjoy the show just for us."
Admittedly, Young Sheldon has yet to become as popular as The Big Bang Theory. Luckily, it is guaranteed to air for a couple of more years, giving it time to further establish itself. As Armitage said, the spin-off has garnered its own loyal fan base over the years. In fact, it is CBS' highest-rated comedy right now, so it won't be a surprise if the network wants to have it in their programming for as long as possible. Unfortunately, its ties to The Big Bang Theory make this tricky since the established continuity dictates some of the big events in the spinoff, including George Cooper's (Lance Barber) death. Without it, Young Sheldon could continue to run as a family sitcom and it won't have to tackle Sheldon's infamous story about catching his dad having sexual relations with another woman.
How Young Sheldon approaches this dilemma moving forward is currently unknown. For years, it has danced around the idea, even resorting to slowing down the aging process for its characters to extend its narrative. But with both Sheldon and Missy (Raegan Revord) looking like full teenagers, CBS doesn't have any choice but to finally address it. Of course, they could just totally veer away from the established timeline on The Big Bang Theory, but that's a big risk as it could turn off its massive fanbase.
Young Sheldon season 5 airs Thursdays on CBS.
Source: Young Sheldon/YouTube