Sheldon in the Middle.
Note: this is a spoiler-free advance review of the first episode of Young Sheldon, which will premiere on CBS on Monday, September 25 at 8:30pm EST.
It's a little funny to think that Young Sheldon is considered to be CBS's big gamble of the Fall 2017 TV season. Is it really such a risky move to craft a spinoff of one of the most widely watched sitcom on the air, especially when that spinoff is going to be airing directly after its predecessor every week? By any other network's standards, that would seem like a pretty safe bet.
All that being said, Young Sheldon isn't quite the carbon copy Big Bang Theory prequel fans might be expecting. For one thing, the decision to explore Sheldon Cooper's (Big Little Liars' Iain Armitage) life in West Texas circa-1989 ensures that none of the other Big Bang Theory crew will be stopping by for the occasional guest appearance. Young Sheldon also switches to a single camera format and ditches the studio audience. It features voice-over narration by the adult Sheldon himself, Jim Parsons (the only Big Bang cast member to play a significant role here). Even the general tone of the series is very different. Young Sheldon is less overtly comedic and more sentimental than its parent series. It may not scratch the same itch as The Big Bang Theory, but Young Sheldon might just connect with audiences who have never found Sheldon Cooper's antics appealing before.
If anything, Young Sheldon feels more in line with Fox's Malcolm in the Middle than The Big Bang Theory. Both Armitage's Sheldon and Frankie Muniz's Malcolm face similar struggles, being child geniuses navigating the treacherous world of public school and dealing with a blue collar family that doesn't understand them. This series offers a chance to meet the entire Cooper clan, including characters like George Cooper Sr. (Californication's Lance Barber) and George Jr. (Montana Jordan) who have never appeared on The Big Bang Theory proper. Joining them are Sheldon's beloved mother, Mary (The Family's Zoe Perry) and his twin sister, Missy (Raegan Revord).
Young Sheldon is no more of a groundbreaking family drama than The Big Bang Theory is a groundbreaking sitcom. The conflicts in this first episode are pretty standard fare, with Sheldon both fretting and anticipating his first day of high school, George Jr. worrying about having his dorky kid brother in the same class and Mary generally trying to keep the family from descending into chaos. The pilot follows a pretty predictable course from start to finish, culminating in a somewhat forced emotional resolution.
Still, there's a heartfelt quality to the show that serves it well despite its often formulaic plot. A lot of that boils down to the relationship between Sheldon and his parents. The Big Bang theory has always made it clear what a calming, nurturing force Mary has been in Sheldon's neurotic existence. Armitage and Perry are able to capture that same warm, sometimes exasperating dynamic that Parsons and Laurie Metcalf share on the main series. The fact that Perry is actually Metcalf's daughter certainly doesn't hurt. She really does manage to evoke her mother's no-nonsense performance while still making Mary her own character. Barber's George Sr. comes across as your typical absent-minded, football obsessed dad for much of the episode, but he gains some much-needed depth before the end.
As for Armitage, he has little trouble carrying the torch for Parsons. Armitage's Sheldon is precocious without being overly obnoxious. Having Parsons around in narrator form helps, as it relieves Armitage of some of the pressure to be funny and make snarky wisecracks. There's a sweetness to 9-year-old Sheldon that's rarely seen in the more self-absorbed, cantankerous adult Sheldon. That may be where Young Sheldon finds its long-term hook. Where does that meaner side of Sheldon come from? Are we going to slowly see Armitage's Sheldon morph into Cooper's Sheldon after years of dealing with being a social outcast?
The series still has some fine-tuning to do with Sheldon's siblings, however. George Jr. shows potential. Despite him being a mostly antagonistic force in Sheldon's life, George isn't an unsympathetic figure. Freshman year is hard enough without having to attend class with your genius kid brother. The show would do well to give George Jr. a bit more room and explore that difficult dilemma in greater depth. Missy is the real dud of the family, unfortunately. She seems to serve little purpose other than being the annoying comedic relief. She's always quick with a smart retort, but that's about it.
Will Young Sheldon find the same level of success as The Big Bang Theory? Probably not. It's a less humor-driven, crowd-pleasing series, and one that falls pretty far from the tree in terms of tone. I'm not even convinced airing the two shows on the same night will work out in Young Sheldon's favor. At the same time, Young Sheldon may well emerge as the better series. As formulaic as the plot is in this pilot, it sells the dysfunctional but ultimately loving Cooper family dynamic. There's a lot more potential for character drama here, especially as we see how Sheldon grows up to be the emotionally stunted man he becomes and (hopefully) learn what fate befell his father in 1994. And as different as this spinoff is, those differences also ensure that it's readily accessible for those who have never climbed on board the Big Bang theory train.
The Verdict
Young Sheldon shares little in common with The Big Bang Theory apart from its lead character, and that's okay. This series is immediately able to carve its own niche by taking a less humor-oriented, more sentimental approach to exploring Sheldon's world. The plot is largely formulaic, but the show has an endearing sweetness to it that should work in its favor over the course of this season.
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