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Warning: The following contains spoilers from Young Sheldon‘s Season 4 premiere.
Young Sheldon just pulled off a surprise “Shamy” reunion.
In Thursday’s Season 4 premiere, Jim Parsons was reunited with Mayim Bialik, who reprised her Big Bang Theory role as Sheldon’s wife, Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, in a voiceover. As the Cooper family gathered in the backyard to commemorate Sheldon’s graduation from high school, as well as twin sister Missy’s graduation from sixth grade, Sheldon the Narrator (voiced by Parsons) said that “it was the best graduation party I had been to… until we had one for my son, Leonard Cooper.
“I wanted his name to be Leonard Nimoy Cooper, but Amy wouldn’t let me,” he revealed. That’s when Bialik chimed in as Sheldon’s better half and said, “Be lucky I let you name him Leonard.” What followed was the exchange of “I love you’s,” before the episode cut to black.
Below, series co-creator Steve Molaro gives TVLine the inside story on that unexpected Big Bang reunion and that very sweet reveal.
TVLINE | Has Mayim Bialik‘s cameo been in the works since earlier this year, when this episode was originally intended as your Season 3 finale?
[Amy’s voiceover] was not in the script yet [pre-pandemic], but Sheldon talking about his son, Leonard Cooper, always was.
TVLINE | So when did you come up with the idea to reunite Sheldon and Amy in this capacity?
Going through the script again, I wanted to add in a joke that I had been thinking about for a long time: that Sheldon might want to name his son Leonard, and give him the middle name Nimoy. Then I was toying with [the idea], “Wouldn’t it be nice to hear Amy say, ‘Just be glad I let you name him Leonard’?” And I thought, “Well, there’s no rules on narration. Let’s put it in and see if Mayim will do it.” I gave Mayim a call and she was happy to [do it]; [she] thought it was really fun.
TVLINE | Any chance Sheldon wanted to name his son not only after Leonard Nimoy, but also after his good friend, Leonard Hofstadter?
He is named after Hofstadter. The middle name of Nimoy seemed like an added bonus, but to me, he is named after Leonard Hofstadter, for sure, without a doubt.
TVLINE | On Big Bang, you never planned too far ahead in terms of story. But with every future reveal on Young Sheldon, it feels like you’re establishing a clearer and clearer picture of what Sheldon’s life looks like after the events of Big Bang‘s 2019 series finale. Has that become part of the goal with this spinoff?
There’s no plan mapped out, but I have my own thoughts about characters and where they are now, and where Sheldon’s at now with Amy. If it’s appropriate to slip something in here and there, I like doing it very much.
TVLINE | This season is supposed to follow Sheldon to college at East Texas Tech. Have new and stringent COVID protocols forced you to temporarily shift storytelling gears? I imagine it’d be awfully hard to shoot some of those campus scenes right now, presumably with a bunch of extras.
We had to start writing before we knew when we were [going back into production], so it seemed easier to not rush to college, and to hang with the Coopers over that summer [before school starts]. Somewhere around Episode 6 is when his college life will begin.
TVLINE | What does a summer at home with the Coopers look like?
I mean, they certainly leave the house. Sheldon and Missy go to Bible camp, Sheldon volunteers as a docent at the train museum… We’re out in the world, we’re just not on a college campus yet.
TVLINE | Will new protocols impact how often we see some of the show’s recurring characters, like Craig T. Nelson’s Dale (who reconciled with Connie in the premiere) and Wallace Shawn’s Dr. Sturgis, who teaches at East Texas Tech?
It will affect Dr. Sturgis. Craig T. is here in L.A., and is in a number of upcoming episodes. Wallace Shawn is based in New York. He will be in upcoming episodes, [and we’ll be] shooting pieces in New York to mesh into the show. He will be back a little bit later in the season, but it does present a challenge [right now].
What did you think of Mayim Bialik’s Young Sheldon cameo (and the Season 4 premiere overall)? Weigh in via the following poll, then hit the comments to flesh out your thoughts.
It was a beautiful ending to a already very strong episode. I suspected we could hear her but I didn’t want my hopes to get too high. Happy I was proved wrong! It was lovely to hear a moment of their future life. And the Leonard name bit? Oh, my heart.
I have to admit … I got teary. I thought it was very sweet.
I concur. As soon as Sheldon said my son Leonard, my heart went awwww! His BFF! It was a beautiful ending that made me miss Big Bang even more.
More likely Lenard Nimoy
Young Sheldon was very good as usual, but the kidney transplant show that followed it was a train wreck with unsympathetic characters and weak humor. I’ll pass on any future episodes of B Positive.
Yuck!
The most touching part of the premier episode was Sheldon’s dedication of his speech to his sister. Missy is one of the secret ingredients that makes this show great. The ending was just icing on this beautiful cake.
Complete agree. Missy is a gem. I love when they show tender moments between Sheldon and Missy.
When Missy visited as an adult, I always thought she should have moved in with Penny. I think it might have provided a good counterpoint all the misogyny.
Totally agree. That was a sweet moment. And I know it’ll happen but we can already see Raegan is starting to hit a growth spurt. It was a little shocking. But natural that she would develop faster than Iain
His Nobel Prize winning speech that was to come later is no different than his valedictorian one. Howard there, Missy here. Both made the eyes moist.
I absolutely loved this episode!
I thought it was a beautiful episode and loved the speech he gave to Missy. I was also happy to see Craig T. Nelson back as he has always been a favourite of mine.
So glad to hear dr. Sturgis will be back. Love that character and continue to root for his reunion with meemaw
The ending was a bit of a missed opportunity to answer a question from the beginning of the pilot of TBBT and there misadventure to a certain high I Q donation centre did his son follow his genius path or follow his sisters as he feared in the pilot
Without doubt, Young Sheldon is by far the best sitcom on TV today. Nothing else even approaches its level.
A wonderful premier episode. Shows for the first time Shelton not being a know it all, and having doubts about what comes next, but realizing he is not alone. Loved the ending!
Missed it. Had it set to record on my dvr, but the episode was not on as scheduled where I live due to election coverage. Found out it was on in the “Mom” timeslot. I will have to keep an eye out for its repeat since I don’t have the CBS streaming service.
You dont have to pay for the service to watch this episode. It is marked as free right now. I think you can only watch it on a tablet or phone though.
Emily, Thanks for the reply. Because of it, I went to the CBS All Access website and was able to watch the episode on my computer for free. So glad I didn’t miss this pivotal episode.
What a delight it would be to see Sheldon Cooper on the spaceship as the science officer himself! No better choice than Sheldon if the Enterprise had to pick someone for the post.
Loved the “Amy” addition. I really miss Big Bang and all of the characters so it was a little heartwarming to hear Amy and adult Sheldon talking about their future…
I loved seeing how Amy & Sheldon’s romance started & bloomed & the true love they showed & their wedding …How Sheldon’s eye’s n his heart belonging only to Amy.I cried happy tears! I also loved Sheldons’ Nobel speech to each one of his friends n so mature n emotional he felt. I am so ecstatic about the fact Amy n Sheldon have multiple kids n hope y’ll will show how each of their children will tire out in their futures…as well as Leonard n Penny n their children…Bernadette n Howard n children…n Rajish what became of them all in their lives…as well as Stuart…I hope he has a happy life! I am so addicted to watching them grow into mature adults.Te show was so great…we need more happy shows expecially in this crazy world we are currantly living.I hope to see these shows on our phones…podcasts as well! Keep up the great work!