Young Sheldon EP Calls Season Finale Crossover a ‘Love Letter’ to Big Bang
You didn’t think CBS would revive The Big Bang Theory THAT fast, did you?
Mere minutes after the CBS smash signed off for good on Thursday, the gang reappeared in the season finale of Young Sheldon. As previously reported by TVLine, the spinoff ended its second season by featuring younger versions of Leonard, Penny, Howard, Raj, Amy and Bernadette, the characters originated on Big Bang by Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch. Viewers briefly glimpsed Young Leonard, Young Penny, Young Howard, Young Raj, Young Amy and Young Bernadette in their respective orbits (see attached gallery for photos, and scroll down for video).
As Young Sheldon showrunner Steve Molaro explains, the one-time stunt served a dual purpose. “It’s such a tremendous night for Big Bang Theory,” he explains, “we were hopeful to find a way to somehow make it feel like a cohesive [night of programming] and, more importantly, pay homage to Big Bang, which was ending and which was the birthplace of Young Sheldon. And this was, hopefully, a way we were able to achieve that.”
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The fact that Sheldon doesn’t actually meet Leonard, Penny and Co. until adulthood precluded little Sheldon from actually interacting with the miniature versions of his future pals. As a result, the gang’s visit doesn’t penetrate the series’ narrative in any “deep” way, Molaro allows. “But I do think it is a moving and powerful ending for Young Sheldon that is, at the same time, a love letter to Big Bang Theory.”
It was perfect!
It was perfect! I cried. Nice touch and homage to tbbt.
Agreed.
They even have young Leonard in the same bathrobe grown-up Leonard wears. That was adorable.
This would have had so much more impact if TVLine hadn’t decided to run the surprise in a headline last week.
They didn’t say how it would happen, and besides, the poiint of such an article is to draw in BBT viewers who might not have stuck around for Young Sheldon otherwise. I, for one, am happy with any story that draws more eyes to that show.
I don’t watch Young Sheldon, so I would’ve missed the moment if TVLine hadn’t clued us in. I still cried.
Of COURSE Penny was sleeping! lol
It was 5:30 in the morning, and she was 4, so yes, of course she was sleeping. As was Bernadette. :)
lol…and Raj was halfway around the world, so of course, he was not. :) But HOW she was sleeping was pure Penny. :)
Loved it.
correct me if I am wrong but Penny wasnt supposed to be a lot younger than Sheldon and co? shoul would be a toddler right? (cant say for sure how old looked young Penny )
According to the credits, Penny was four years old here.
Thank you!!!
It was truly the best part of the night, especially Sheldon narration of being glad he was wrong about being alone. Made me cry
Was that Elias Harger (Max in Fuller house) who played young Leonard?
His younger brother!
Ok! I totally thought it was Elias but the eyebrows were different. Thanks for clarifying’
man, if Young Sheldon was ending tonight as well, that scene would have been perfect for a series finale
It worked. The perfect song with the scene. Touching!
Great tribute episode.
I really wanted to see this, but it was interrupted for emergency weather coverage.
It’s free, with ads, at cbs.com.
I’m not ashamed to admit it made me cry.
I teared up pretty good for both this and TBBT’s finales and then the TBBT retrospective, especially when Kaley’s voice cracked due to her trying to hold back tears.
It was perfect
I think what made it even more impactful was the fact that we also saw that Dr. Sturgis was not well mentally, and this was not the first time that he had had issues with mental illness. To see Sheldon alone in that garage was so sad because (even though we know there’s TBBT), the garage scene was a kind of question. Would Sheldon face a similar fate as Dr. Sturgis? In addition to being an homage to TBBT, seeing the six kids was comforting because viewers knew Sheldon would soon not be alone. I actually liked Young Sheldon’s season finale better than TBBT’s series finale.
I have wondered why we had never heard about Dr. Sturgis ever on TBBT. Sheldon had mentioned his Memaw and his grandfather many times. Dr. Sturgis is shaping up to be a big part of Sheldon’s childhood, or at least to have made an impact. So, I’m wondering if something bad or sad happens with him in Young Sheldon and perhaps that will be the explanation as to why he was never mentioned in TBBT even though there was a good amount of time he was on Young Sheldong while TBBT was still airing.
Oh, don’t say that, Liz! I love Dr. Sturgis as a character, as well as Dr. Sturgis and Meemaw (Connie) as a pairing. TBBT already made canon that Sheldon and Tam will have a falling out. I don’t want anything else unfortunate to happen to Dr. Sturgis. That is one good thing about TBBT being done. It retroactively made canon for YS. Now, while YS does have to observe whatever canon TBBT established, there will be no new canon set by TBBT. Therefore, YS can now make its own canon about things that weren’t specifically established in TBBT. Like, for example, Sheldon mentioned that both of his brother’s ex-wives sent congrats about the Nobel, but it was never specified who those women might be. Which means that one of them could potentially be Veronica…depending on the length of YS, that is.
Or at the series finale of Young Sheldon 8n a flash forward Veronica becomes the third and last Mrs Cooper
I cried for two solid hours: first with TBBT, then with YS, and finally with the behind-the-scenes show. YS was incredibly touching and sad. TBBT was nearly perfect, especially Sheldon’s speech. My only unfulfilled wish? Learning Penny’s maiden name, which the show runners had been hyping for two years, for cryin’ out loud!
A stand out episode, and not just for the emotional ending. I’m curious to see where they go with the Dr. Sturgis storyline.
I love Wallace Shawn character, Dr. Sturgis and would truly miss him if they don’t bring him back.
I had tears during the hole show. I felt as if i were saying goodbye to very special friends who had become my family. Young sheldon also made me cry . Knowing that sheldon will not be alone. I don’t think doctor will recover. He may have the start of de Dementia or all timers.
I don’t normally watch Young Sheldon, but I love Big Bang, so I tuned in tonight. It was a great way to tip the hat to the mother show, and thematically it worked well, too.
I’m kind of disappointed they didn’t have young Amy dressed like Blossom.
I thought it was a great tribute to TBBT and showed some light in an otherwise sad time for Young Sheldon. One thing I think YS does well is it shows a lot of heart that TBBT may not have always shown due to it being more of a traditional multi-cam comedy. YS is more willing to touch on some rather tough issues and how they may have affected Sheldon’s emotional and social development.
At some point Young Sheldon will have to deal with his father’s death. His line about Sheldon’s brother taking years off his life is something we all know will eventually come true.
It’ll be interesting to see how they progress the series since Lorre said that the show won’t always follow a linear timeline and that seasons could take place over several months instead of one season being a full year. I think that could get tricky since they’re dealing with growing kids and their noticeable development between and during seasons could affect how effectively this time delaying can be done. I get the feeling that they want to hold off losing his dad towards the end of the series but depending on how the ratings go without TBBT as a lead-in, they may not want to hold off on that for too long. I don’t think this show will be on 12 years like TBBT and is more likely to run for 5-7 seasons at best so they may want to start planning it out now.
Poor Dr Sturgis. Connie will never be able to smile fondly at his eccentricities again
The casting was spot on! Especially the girl who played young Amy.
Loved this show. Sheldon sitting in the garage alone, his voice over about not being alone and the “mini me” TBBT characters. And Annie Potts deserves an Emmy for her work – from funny and sarcastic at the start of the episode to the heartbreaking look on her face standing on the roof with John she was perfect
The entire cast is terrific, but I agree that Annie Potts was a stand-out last night. I also thought that she deserves recognition for the episode (as does Wallace Shawn, who was outstanding as Dr. Sturgis). The YS season finale was a perfect companion episode to BBT’s series finale.
I actually cried….it was so sweet and touching. Little Sheldon all alone and on the verge of tears doesn’t realize (though we do) that one day he will find a group of people who will tolerate and even come to love him despite his exasperating quirks
Could have sworn they replayed the ending TBBT song at the end of Young Sheldon not the one in video.
Tearjerker. Young Amy looks just like adult Amy–look at the chin. LOVED IT!!