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In the canon of successful TV spin-offs, “Young Sheldon” must now always be mentioned. Unfolding in the same universe of “The Big Bang Theory”, the sitcom focused on a young Sheldon Cooper growing up in Texas long before he became the man audiences knew him to be, as Jim Parsons portrayed him. When it came time to breathe new life into his character from a younger perspective, Parsons was directly involved not only as the show’s narrator, but also as an executive producer. But while he’s relatively confident as an actor, Parsons didn’t have the same confidence as a producer.
In a 2017 interview with CBS NewsParsons sat down with “Young Sheldon” star Iain Armitage to discuss the series, as well as their relationship. Parsons mentored Armitage extensively to help him become the young Sheldon Cooper.. But when asked specifically if he was an executive producer, Parsons didn’t shy away from his feelings.
“I’m very poor at it,” Parsons responded, although Armitage quickly jumped in and disagreed, saying, “That’s not true.” Speaking a little further. Parsons explained his new position and why it had been a challenge for him. Ultimately, he didn’t want to tell another actor how to do their job:
“It’s very strange and took a lot of getting used to, even talking to another actor, in this case Iain. I’ve never been someone comfortable giving direction to another actor. I don’t know what motivates another actor, necessarily, and I don’t want to break him or him!
“I’m not that fragile. I’m fragile, but not that fragile,” Armitage commented. Parsons then agreed, replying, “No, you actually aren’t.”
Big Sheldon had to pass the torch to Young Sheldon
For what it’s worth, it all worked out, regardless of Parsons’ feelings about himself as a producer. “Young Sheldon” ran for seven seasons on CBS before concluding its broadcast in May 2024. This represents 141 episodes, for those who follow. That’s not as many as the 12 seasons and 279 episodes of “Big Bang Theory,” but to say the spinoff was wildly successful would be unfair.
Parsons largely allowed Armitage to put his own stamp on Sheldon Cooper, even early on. Yes, we know old Sheldon, who Armitage referred to as “great Sheldon” in the interview, but this was a very different version of the character. Parsons talked about it a bit, explaining that watching young Sheldon discover everything he loves would keep the series going:
“It’s very much its own character. What you see is how it became what we see in the adult series, and so it’s sort of its own creature that [Iain’s] depicting here. There’s some overlap, but we watch him discover things, like comic books, and his clothes will change styles as he goes through this. All the things you associate with Sheldon now, you see how they got there because of him. »
Although he only served as narrator for the vast majority of the series, Parsons appeared as Sheldon Cooper in the series finale “Young Sheldon”. He helped finish what he started, with Armitage now able to build a career after seven very successful years on a hit series. Everyone won. So it might be difficult, in hindsight, to agree that Parsons was a bad producer.
“Young Sheldon” is now streaming on Max, or you can grab your favorite season on Blu-ray/DVD via Amazon.
