Young Sheldon is a spin-off prequel to The Big Bang Theory and follows the character Sheldon Cooper at the age of 9, living with his family in East Texas.
Very few TV show characters have gone down as legends. A selected few have been considered as big as the show itself. And a lucky few have been loved so much that they have managed a show of their own, a spinoff JUST about the character.
Well, Sheldon Cooper is one of them.
Immortalised by Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon Cooper is the blunt, smart and geeky guy we all love to love. Whether it’s his famous catchphrase “Bazinga!” or his total ignorance of sarcasm, there are so many quirks in him that make him our and his Meemaw’s favourite. So much so, that CBS now is running an entire show that explains the journey of this genius from his home to CalTech – Young Sheldon.
TV spinoffs for just a single character have been tough to implement and produce, ever since the abysmal Joey spinoff from Friends. Chuck Lorre is helped by the writers of TBBT and even Jim Parsons to ensure that Young Sheldon is exactly what the audience hope it to be. Sheldon is a man of many features, and there are many back stories that could be fit into the show, such as his fear of chickens.
Young Sheldon is a show with tremendous potential and there is so much that the showmakers can do. The show can cover his education, his relationship with his siblings, growing up in a Christian household and culminate with him moving to Pasadena and inviting Leonard over to live with him.
Since Jim Parsons provides only the voice over in the show, Iain Armitage has big shoes to fill, portraying the genius in his early days. One immediately takes a liking to Zoe Perry, who plays the role of young Sheldon’s mother. There is no live audience for the show, so the scenes cannot rely on audience laughter to be funny for the viewers. They need to ensure that the audience connects with Iain the same way they have been connecting with Jim. All characters in the show are new, with almost no backstory. Thus, it is the job of the producers to build their roles in such a way that the viewers connect with them. If Young Sheldon can even be half as successful as Big Bang Theory, the producers would call it a good day.
The pilot episode is already out and has garnered mixed reviews from the viewers. While Iain’s portrayal of Sheldon is praiseworthy, the same cannot be said about the show overall. There are no major plot points in development and there are not many characters other than Sheldon’s family.
The show can be a major hit like its predecessor, or fall next to Joey in the list of spinoffs that shouldn’t have been made. With a good cast and the backing of a major production house, it is likely that they will recover from their sluggish start and deliver us a good show.