TV Review: Young Sheldon Series Premiere

For over a decade the world has fallen in love with Sheldon Cooper. From his conversations with Stephen Hawking to his quirky personality, fans have only gotten a glimpse into his past. Until now. Fans get to see where it all began for Sheldon growing up in East Texas in 1989.

Young Sheldon might be the story of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory but you don’t have to have seen the last ten seasons to enjoy this late 80’s era comedy. Creator Chuck Lorre, who also created Big Bang, does a phenomenal job creating a new world based off of one thousands have become so familiar with, yet allowing it to stand on its own. The only tie Young Sheldon has to its predecessor is Jim Parsons who narrates the story.

Young Sheldon tells the story of 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) as he enters high school along with his brother and classmate Georgie (Montana Jordan). His other family members include his twin sister Missy (Raegan Revord), father and high school football coach George (Lance Barber) and Sheldon’s biggest fan, his mother Mary (Zoe Perry).

CBS

Iain does a phenomenal job making Sheldon his own creation. Iain recently starred in HBO’s Big Little Lies and has done a complete 180-degree turn from his dark character, Ziggy. For a boy who wasn’t even alive when Big Bang first aired, Iain really grasped what it’s like to be a young Sheldon in the strange world of East Texas.

But while the story does revolve around Sheldon, his mother is just as worthy of the spotlight. Sheldon wouldn’t be who he becomes in Big Bang without the guidance of his mother. Young Sheldon opens the door to Sheldon and Mary’s relationship. Perry was not only the smart choice to play Sheldon’s mother as her own mother, Laurie Metcalf, plays Mary Cooper in Big Bang, but also the right choice. The chemistry between Iain and Perry is one a loving mother and her son would have.

Some of the best moments during the premiere were when it was just the two sharing the screen. The best conversation the two had was when Mary tried to talk Sheldon out of wearing a bowtie on the first day. She doesn’t want him to stand out any more than he already does as a 9-year-old in 9th grade. She tells him if he takes it off she’ll take him to Radio Shack over the weekend. It’s a scene so pure but also holds so strong to their mother-son relationship. While the world might look at Sheldon Cooper as a weird science genius, Mary Cooper looks at him as a regular 9-year-old who just happens to have a special gift.

It’ll be exciting to see where the storyline goes in Young Sheldon since there is a lot of content creators can pull from. Lorre has been creating and adding to the Big Bang universe for over a decade and now, he has a completely new one to mold into whatever he desires.

Young Sheldon will air on Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c on CBS, beginning November 2.

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