It feels like only yesterday that The Big Bang Theory wrapped up its impressive run.
In a few short months, the origins of Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) will be over when we watch the series finale of the spinoff, Young Sheldon.
Thanks to our knowledge of the original series, what has to happen in the final season is inevitable, and now it’s official.
The hit comedy will kill off George Cooper Sr. (Lance Barber) before the show takes its curtain call.
In a new interview with TV Line, series EP Steve Holland wouldn’t elaborate on how the death will play out but stressed that it will “get addressed.”
Holland acknowledged that the prequel doesn’t have to be “beholden to every joke” from the original series, but the show is “beholden to the larger canon and the larger events that shape Sheldon’s life.”
How does George Sr. die on Young Sheldon?
The Big Bang Theory revealed that Sheldon’s father died from heart complications.
We know that Sheldon is 14 years old at the time of his father’s death, and the tragedy strikes around a year after George Sr.’s affair is exposed.
Before we knew Young Sheldon would end with Season 7, it was inevitable we were reaching this point in Sheldon’s life, so of course, we knew it was coming.
Given that the revelations about the character’s death on The Big Bang Theory were made before the prequel was even an idea, Holland and co-creators Chuck Lorre and Steven Moralo did not consider not addressing the death.
Holland says, “This is a thing that happens in Sheldon’s life,” before stating that the characters from both shows are set in the same universe, so it’s crucial to have these events from Sheldon’s life play out the way the original series set them up.
Why was Young Sheldon canceled?
Young Sheldon’s end date announcement came as a bit of a shock to fans when it was announced back in November.
The numbers signaled that it would continue for the years to come, but it seems that the show had reached the point of no return in terms of how Sheldon’s life would change forever with his dad’s death.
While the series is closing in on an endgame, the prequel is getting a spinoff of its own with a Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy (Emily Osment) series in development at CBS.
The project has yet to get a formal pickup, but given that Georgie and Mandy’s wedding is on tap for Young Sheldon Season 7, there’s a good chance we’ll spend much time with them in the final season.
In other CBS end-date news, Blue Bloods is wrapping up with Season 14.
Young Sheldon Season 7 premieres Thursday, February 15 at 8/7c on CBS.