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I didnt say it at his funeral but I can say it now.
(L-R): Annie Potts as Meemaw, Zoe Perry as Mary, Montana Jordan as Georgie, and Raegan Revord as Missy.
I loved my father, I will miss him forever.
Thats how well feel aboutYoung Sheldon.
Looking back on that death as an adult has really framed what this shows been about, I think.
Raegan Revord as Missy and Montana Jordan as Georgie
Steve Molaro:I agree.
I dont regret that its happening.
Its a strong ending and a part of life.
From left: Chuck Lorre, Matt Hobby, Raegan Revord, Annie Potts, Wyatt McClure, Iain Armitage, Lance Barber, Zoe Perry, Steve Holland, Montana Jordan and Steven Molaro at the 100th episode premiere ofYoung Sheldonat Warner Bros. Studios in March 2022
What caused the most anguish when it came to crafting storylines the last few years?
Im thinking either Georges potential cheating or his eventual passing.
You cant force them into a box.
The Cooper family, as portrayed in 2017. from left: Mary (Zoe Perry), Missy (Raegan Revord), Sheldon (Iain Armitage), George, Sr. (Lance Barber), and Georgie (Montana Jordan)
As the show went on, Lance brought [so much] to the character.
He was such a lovely person and a lovable dad, and that was what the show was becoming.
You cant go back and force it into [something else].
Billy Sparks (Wyatt McClure) and Missy (Raegan Revord)
It wouldve felt wrong for the character and the show.
Thats how these characters evolvebecause of the actors and who theyre playing.
Its tough for all of us to say goodbye to George, but we knew it was coming.
Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler and Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in the series finale ofYS. While making an appearance onThe Viewrecently, Parsons said filming the episode “was very special, and I didn’t realize I wanted another goodbye to the character that way, but I’m so glad it happened.”
I like to think it gets them a little closer to how we meet them whenBig Bangstarts.
Now they have two kids who are old enough to play hockey and take acting lessons.
So, how far into the future are we?
Sheldon’s new, but also old, home office
Holland: We dont say, but their kids in our minds are probably 11 or 12.
So were probably maybe five or six-ish years in the future from now.
What was it like to see them back together again in these roles?
From left: Ed Bagley Jr. as Dr. Linkletter, Wallace Shawn as Dr. Sturgis, Annie Potts as Meemaw, Zoe Perry as Mary, and Montana Jordan as Georgie
Molaro:It was wonderful.
It was the best day.
Seeing him there in person really brings the character back.
Lance Barber as George Sr. and Zoe Perry as Mary
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Molaro:I dont think so.
But to see them in character on set one last time with us?
From left: Iain Armitage as Sheldon and professor David Saltzberg
No, thats a gift and we wouldve never expected that to happen.
How long did you know that Sheldons narration would be him writing a memoir?
Molaro:We didnt know that from the beginning.
From left: Iain Armitage as Sheldon and professor David Saltzberg
It was a brilliant choice.
Holland:If it was brilliant, then we knew it all along.
Molaro:I dont think were smart enough to be that brilliant all along.
Montana Jordan as Georgie and Emily Osment as Mandy
Lets talk about future Sheldon and Amys clothes.
They stayed true to the days ofBig Bang, but with some upgrades.
Molaro:I remember us thinking we didnt want Sheldon in the typical comic book store shirts.
Hes a dad now, and we wanted him to be a little more mature.
We figured Amy might have encouraged him to no longer wear that, or hidden them all.
Mayim was happy with what Amy was wearing and thought it was right.
And those were Mayims personal glasses.
Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler and Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in the series finale ofYS.
Sheldons home office looked very similar to his apartment onBig Bang,but its obviously a new house.
Talk about the design, and what you wanted their home to look like.
The desk is wood, and the walls have a similar wood vibe.
Im glad we at least tried to make it clear.
What items did you take out of the archives that made the move to this new house?
Obviously the couch and the same pillow, which was a thrill to see.
Holland:We went to Warners museum and pilfered.
In the dead of night, we snuck in.
We went to the Warner Bros. museum and started tagging things we thought Sheldon might still have.
That was a weird, emotional day.
The DNA structure in the corner, which you see pretty early on.
Then on the shelves is the Adam SavageMythBustersbobblehead.
Theres a plastic green lantern thats in the corner, but I dont know how visible it is.
And then the Gollum statue on his desk.
Holland: Sheldons Nobel Prize is framed.
But now its on the wall…
Molaro:Amy made him stop wearing it.
Shes like, you’re gonna wanna take that off.
This is getting [ridiculous].
Holland:He can pull it out for company, otherwise its in the box.
What else was important for you to touch on in these final two episodes?
Even walking out to rehearse that scene, Raegan [Revord, who plays Missy] burst into tears.
For the funeral scenes, we were in the church for three days.
This cast staying in that emotional place for days was exhausting and emotional and beautiful.
Her performance is so real and hard to watch when she starts to break down.
Everyones incredible, every actor in this episode is just stellar.
Its just an everyday morning scene and no one takes note of it.
Dads leaving for work.
Sheldon doesnt even look up, and Missy says shell take the bus.
That felt so real, that you take those moments for granted.
Theres nothing special about this moment until after and you realize that this was a last moment.
Everyone goes through grief in a different way, and Sheldons not an expressive person.
But in his mind, that last moment with his dad, he regrets that he didnt say goodbye.
Did Lance purposely stay away from the set when he wasnt in scenes after George died?
He wanted his absence to be a part of that for them.
He was so thoughtful about what would help them through these scenes.
Lance Barber as George Sr. and Zoe Perry as Mary
Wow.
We also hear an instrumental version of Mighty Little Man, theYoung Sheldontheme song, in the finale.
Was that a callback to theacoustic version ofBig Bangs theme song in their finale?
Shes the last family member to share the screen with Sheldon.
She has the ha ha.
I got choked up in editing knowing that this was a farewell for Missy and Sheldon.
How did that cameo come about?
Holland:I think maybe Chuck felt it could be a real-life scientist.
Molaro:Theres also the weirdness of, this is 30 years ago.
So if you get somebody whos a known scientist now, what are we saying?
But Saltzberg was perfect, and its an Easter egg.
Hes also been such a huge part of this show andBig Bangfor 19 seasons.
What a lovely way to end it.
Holland:I got to call David and ask him if he wanted to do it.
He was so sweetly touched and honored and a little nervous that he was going to screw it up.
Molaro:A month or two.
We knew it sort of heading into the writing of the last few episodes.
We were really excited that those were going to be his final words.
Was that the last scene you filmed also, or no?
It was intentionally the dinner scene so everybody could be there.
Holland:Where Mary wants him to get baptized and George Sr.s empty chair is there.
We wanted to confirm the last thing we shot had as much of the family in it.
Molaro:Everybody showed up and was hanging out.
Lance was there, just not on camera.
Molaro:End the show the way you started it.
I was like, Thats such a good idea.
So let me ask you: The show is creatively still thriving.
Was there any talk about continuing on without George, or was that a nonstarter?
Holland:It felt like (a) good to go out on top.
You didnt want to do the Happy Dayswithout Richie season.
This is going to be as good as it has been.
It felt like we wouldve been doing it because we liked this world and this cast.
It wasnt something we felt like we could just jump in or overflowing with ideas we were excited about.
I would not have been comfortable digging in on Sheldon at Caltech.
Now its really trying to be a weird pre-Big Bang.
That doesnt get me excited.
Like, theres the cafeteria set, but he hasnt met Leonard yet.
Will we see Zoe, Annie, Reagan, and Iain pop up in this new series?
You dont want to lose those characters or those actors.
Holland:We love those characters, and its always been our hope that we would see them again.
Thats the hope, and we expect that to be the case.
Montana Jordan as Georgie and Emily Osment as Mandy
I heard youll be filming on theBig Bangstage, right?
Holland:Thats correct.
Were going to be back on stage 25.
I couldnt bring myself to do it.
I know thats not the case.
I needed to talk to him and I told him, it’s crucial that you come outside.
Im not going on that stage.
And he came out.
So whose decision was it to film on stage 25 forGeorgie & Mandy?
Molaro:It came up, and we agreed to it.
Ill wear myBig Bangclass ring.
Holland:Its going to feel smaller, right?
When you go back to high school, youre like, Ooh, it seems smaller than I remember.
Are you excited to go back to the multicam world?
Holland:So excited, yes.
Single camera was great andYoung Sheldonis a show were proud of, but we grew up doing multicam.
Thats how we came up in this business.
Theres nothing quite like putting a show up in front of a live audience.
A number of the crew fromYoung Sheldonare coming over with us, and were really happy about that.
Therell be formerBig Bangpeople that were trying to bring back as well.
It should be a nice mix ofBig Bang,Young Sheldon,and new people.
Will there a big time jump from theYSfinale to whenGeorgie & Mandybegins?
Molaro:The plan is to use the same babies.
We love those babies.
Theyre cute and really well-behaved.
And their parents are great.
Finally, a new generation who may not even be familiar withThe Big Bang Theoryis discoveringYoung Sheldonthanks to Netflix.
Its been in the Top 10 consistently.
What does that mean to you?
Were watching every episode as a family.
He never even heard ofBig Bang.
I love it because we wanted the show to be able to stand on its own.
This is sort of proof that it can.
