The early life of child genius Sheldon Cooper, later seen in The Big Bang Theory.
Seasons
8 listed
Status
Ended
Seasons
7 seasons
Episodes
141 episodes
First aired
Sep 25, 2017
Last aired
May 16, 2024
Network
CBS
Latest episode:S7 E14 Memoir (2) (May 16, 2024)
Season 1
22 episodes Sep 25, 2017 7.1
A brilliant yet awkward nine-year-old Sheldon Cooper lands in high school where his smarts leave everyone stumped in this "The Big Bang Theory" spinoff.
1Pilot
2Rockets, Communists, and the Dewey Decimal System
3Poker, Faith, and Eggs
4A Therapist, a Comic Book, and a Breakfast Sausage
5A Solar Calculator, a Game Ball, and a Cheerleader's Bosom
6A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac
7A Brisket, Voodoo, and Cannonball Run
8Cape Canaveral, Schrödinger's Cat, and Cyndi Lauper's Hair
9Spock, Kirk, and Testicular Hernia
10An Eagle Feather, a String Bean, and an Eskimo
11Demons, Sunday School, and Prime Numbers
12A Computer, a Plastic Pony, and a Case of Beer
13A Sneeze, Detention, and Sissy Spacek
14Potato Salad, a Broomstick, and Dad's Whiskey
15Dolomite, Apple Slices, and a Mystery Woman
16Killer Asteroids, Oklahoma, and a Frizzy Hair Machine
17Jiu-Jitsu, Bubble Wrap, and Yoo-hoo
18A Mother, A Child, and a Blue Man's Backside
19Gluons, Guacamole, and the Color Purple
20A Dog, a Squirrel, and a Fish Named Fish
21Summer Sausage, a Pocket Poncho, and Tony Danza
22Vanilla Ice Cream, Gentleman Callers, and a Dinette Set
Season 2
22 episodes Sep 24, 2018 7.3
Life as a child genius continues to present more brain games for Sheldon as he tackles ambitious projects, social dilemmas and family crises.
1A High-Pitched Buzz and Training Wheels
2A Rival Prodigy and Sir Isaac Neutron
3A Crisis of Faith and Octopus Aliens
4A Financial Secret and Fish Sauce
5A Research Study and Czechoslovakian Wedding Pastries
6Seven Deadly Sins and a Small Carl Sagan
7Carbon Dating and a Stuffed Raccoon
8An 8-Bit Princess and a Flat Tire Genius
9Family Dynamics and a Red Fiero
10A Stunted Childhood and a Can of Fancy Mixed Nuts
11A Race of Superhumans and a Letter to Alf
12A Tummy Ache and a Whale of a Metaphor
13A Nuclear Reactor and a Boy Called Lovely
14David, Goliath and a Yoo-hoo from the Back
15A Math Emergency and Perky Palms
16A Loaf of Bread and a Grand Old Flag
17Albert Einstein and the Story of Another Mary
18A Perfect Score and a Bunsen Burner Marshmallow
19A Political Campaign and a Candy Land Cheater
20A Proposal and a Popsicle Stick Cross
21A Broken Heart and a Crock Monster
22A Swedish Science Thing and the Equation for Toast
Season 3
21 episodes Sep 26, 2019 6.8
Sheldon must find new ways to stay academically challenged as he lands in an internet war, curbs an unhealthy obsession and prepares for the future.
1Quirky Eggheads and Texas Snow Globes
2A Broom Closet and Satan's Monopoly Board
3An Entrepreneurialist and a Swat on the Bottom
4Hobbitses, Physicses and a Ball with Zip
5A Pineapple and the Bosom of Male Friendship
6A Parasol and a Hell of an Arm
7Pongo Pygmaeus and a Culture that Encourages Spitting
8The Sin of Greed and a Chimichanga from Chi-chi's
9A Party Invitation, Football Grapes and an Earth Chicken
10Teenager Soup and a Little Ball of Fib
11A Live Chicken, a Fried Chicken and Holy Matrimony
12Body Glitter and a Mall Safety Kit
13Contracts, Rules and a Little Bit of Pig Brains
14A Slump, a Cross and Roadside Gravel
15A Boyfriend's Ex-Wife and a Good Luck Head Rub
16Pasadena
17An Academic Crime and a More Romantic Taco Bell
18A Couple Bruised Ribs and a Cereal Box Ghost Detector
19A House for Sale and Serious Woman Stuff
20A Baby Tooth and the Egyptian God of Knowledge
21A Secret Letter and a Lowly Disc of Processed Meat
Season 4
18 episodes Nov 5, 2020 7.2
With high school in the rearview, Sheldon mentally prepares for college as an 11-year-old while the Cooper family deals with issues of their own.
1Graduation
2A Docent, A Little Lady and a Bouncer Named Dalton
3Training Wheels and an Unleashed Chicken
4Bible Camp and a Chariot of Love
5A Musty Crypt and a Stick to Pee On
6Freshman Orientation and the Inventor of The Zipper
7A Philosophy Class and Worms That Can Chase You
8An Existential Crisis and a Bear That Makes Bubbles
9Crappy Frozen Ice Cream and an Organ Grinder's Monkey
10Cowboy Aerobics and 473 Grease-Free Bolts
11A Pager, a Club and a Cranky Bag of Wrinkles
12A Box of Treasure and the Meemaw of Science
13The Geezer Bus and a New Model for Education
14Mitch's Son and the Unconditional Approval of a Government Agency
15A Virus, Heartbreak and a World of Possibilities
16A Second Prodigy and the Hottest Tips for Pouty Lips
17A Black Hole
18The Wild and Woolly World of Nonlinear Dynamics
Season 5
22 episodes Oct 7, 2021 7.2
As tween Sheldon settles into his first year of college, the Coopers face relationship struggles — and a family secret is revealed.
1One Bad Night and Chaos of Selfish Desires
2Snoopin' Around and the Wonder Twins of Atheism
3Potential Energy and Hooch on a Park Bench
4Pish Posh and a Secret Back Room
5Stuffed Animals and a Sweet Southern Syzygy
6Money Laundering and a Cascade of Hormones
7An Introduction to Engineering and a Glob of Hair Gel
8The Grand Chancellor and a Den of Sin
9The Yips and an Oddly Hypnotic Bohemian
10An Expensive Glitch and a Goof-Off Room
11A Lock-In, a Weather Girl and a Disgusting Habit
12A Pink Cadillac and a Glorious Tribal Dance
13A Lot of Band-Aids and the Cooper Surrender
14A Free Scratcher and Feminine Wiles
15A Lobster, an Armadillo and a Way Bigger Number
16A Suitcase Full of Cash and a Yellow Clown Car
17A Solo Peanut, a Social Butterfly and the Truth
18Babies, Lies and a Resplendent Cannoli
19A God-Fearin' Baptist and a Hot Trophy Husband
20Uncle Sheldon and a Hormonal Firecracker
21White Trash, Holy Rollers and Punching People
22Clogged Pore, a Little Spanish and the Future
Season 6
22 episodes Sep 29, 2022 7.4
Sheldon takes on a new role as a dorm resident advisor at college, while his family back home experiences significant changes, including Meemaw and Dale making a potentially risky business deal and Mary and George Sr. rekindling their romance, leading to a season filled with both academic challenges for Sheldon and family dynamics navigating new situations.
1Four Hundred Cartons of Undeclared Cigarettes and a Niblingo
2Future Worf and the Margarita of the South Pacific
3Passion's Harvest and a Sheldocracy
4Blonde Ambition and the Concept of Zero
5A Resident Advisor and the Word 'Sketchy'
6An Ugly Car, an Affair and Some Kickass Football
7A Tougher Nut and a Note on File
8Legalese and a Whole Hoo-Ha
9College Dropouts and the Medford Miracle
10Pancake Sunday and Textbook Flirting
11Ruthless, Toothless and a Week of Bed Rest
12A Baby Shower and a Testosterone-Rich Banter
13A Frat Party, a Sleepover and the Mother of All Blisters
14A Launch Party and a Whole Human Being
15Teen Angst and a Smart-Boy Walk of Shame
16A Stolen Truck and Going on the Lam
17A German Folk Song and an Actual Adult
18Little Green Men and a Fella's Marriage Proposal
19A New Weather Girl and a Stay-at-Home Coddler
20German for Beginners and a Crazy Old Man with a Bat
21A Romantic Getaway and a Germanic Meat-Based Diet
22A Tornado, a 10-Hour Flight and a Darn Fine Ring
Season 7
14 episodes Feb 15, 2024 7.8
Season 7 of Young Sheldon follows the Cooper family as they deal with loss, tragedy and new beginnings.
1A Wiener Schnitzel and Underwear in a Tree
2A Roulette Wheel and a Piano Playing Dog
3A Strudel and a Hot American Boy Toy
4Ants on a Log and a Cheating Winker
5A Frankenstein's Monster and a Crazy Church Guy
6Baptists, Catholics and an Attempted Drowning
7A Proper Wedding and Skeletons in the Closet
8An Ankle Monitor and a Big Plastic Crap House
9A Fancy Article and a Scholarship for a Baby
10Community Service and the Key to a Happy Marriage
11A Little Snip and Teaching Old Dogs
12A New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture
13Funeral (1)
14Memoir (2)
Specials
6 episodes May 28, 2017
1An Origin Story
2Sibling Revelry
3The Coopers, East Texas, and the 80's
4Time Flies When You're Having Fun: Young Sheldon at 100
I went into Young Sheldon with a lot of skepticism. Spin-offs usually smell like corporate homework, and the idea of peeling the breakout character off The Big Bang Theory—a show built on big multi-cam beats—and dropping him into a single-camera period piece set in 1980s Texas sounded exhausting. latestnetflix.com's take is that instead, Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro made something gentler and stranger.
It's a quiet show about what it feels like to be the smartest person in the room when the room is your own family. (Legend has it the whole idea clicked after Jim Parsons showed Lorre a video of his wildly intelligent ten-year-old nephew. That curiosity about childhood eccentricity really does seem stitched into the show.)
Without a laugh track telling you when to relax, Young Sheldon has to let awkwardness sit there. And it does. Over and over, the show drops a painfully bright kid (Iain Armitage) into situations driven by feelings he can't measure or solve.
Armitage has a tricky assignment: he needs some of the clipped, superior cadence Jim Parsons made famous, but he also has to let a child's vulnerability leak through it. When he locks his jaw or folds those narrow arms across his chest, it doesn't read like a cute quirk. It reads like self-defense.
Audience Opinions
Audience 8.1/10
"A warm, character-driven family comedy that turns Sheldon's childhood into a surprisingly emotional ensemble story."
The Cooper family as a whole, especially George, Mary, Missy, Georgie, and Meemaw, is the real heart of the show, balancing sharp humor with touching moments. Some viewers grow tired of Sheldon's self-centered behavior, episodic repetition, and continuity issues with his adult storyline, but the mix of wit, family drama, and nostalgic small-town detail makes it comforting, easy-to-binge television.
What viewers praise
Ensemble cast standoutsPerformances by Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Raegan Revord, Montana Jordan, and Annie Potts are often more engaging than Sheldon himself.
Engaging family dynamicsThe Cooper family relationships, especially the sibling bond between Sheldon and Missy and the interactions with Meemaw, are believable, funny, and touching.
Humor with emotional depthComedy is laced with sincere moments about parenting, growing up gifted, and small-town struggles, and several episodes are genuine tear-jerkers.
Nostalgic setting and toneThe late-1980s Texas backdrop, period details, and narration give the show a cozy, nostalgic feel distinct from its parent series.
Accessible even without TBBTViewers who never finished or never liked The Big Bang Theory still report enjoying this as a standalone coming-of-age family story.
Common complaints
Sheldon’s grating behaviorSheldon’s arrogance, lack of empathy, and constant need to be right grow irritating, especially on rewatches or in later seasons.
Repetitive sitcom formulasPlots and character beats can feel recycled, with family conflicts and school problems following familiar loops.
Canon and realism issuesInconsistencies with previously established details about Sheldon's life and loose portrayals of academic and university settings bother more detail-focused viewers.
Occasional tonal schmaltzSentimental scenes and moral wrap-ups sometimes come across as overly sugary or heavy-handed compared to the show’s sharper moments.
Uneven handling of sensitive humorA few gags, including body-shaming jokes and dated attitudes, are uncomfortable or out-of-step with current sensibilities.
Recommended for
Big Bang Theory devotees Wholesome family comedy fans Character-focused sitcom watchers Light drama comfort-viewing 1980s small-town nostalgia lovers Jim Parsons character backstory fans
Buzz & Rumors
Public reports
They found him on a phone in his grandparents' house.
Iain Armitage was nine. The tape was shot on a cell phone over Christmas break. Steve Holland, one of the Young Sheldon bosses, later told CBS Sunday Morning that doing what Jim Parsons does on The Big Bang Theory is "a one-in-a-million shot," because Sheldon can read as grating, and Parsons has a sweetness that cuts through. "And you're like, 'Well, is it possible that there's a kid who's eight who can do that?'" The kid on the tape could. CBS put Young Sheldon on after Big Bang, with a special preview on September 25, 2017, then the Thursday slot on November 2. The upfront trailer, CBS said, had already been viewed more than 22 million times across Facebook, latestnetflix.com contends, Twitter, and YouTube. Jim Parsons narrated. Zoe Perry played the mother her own mother, Laurie Metcalf, had played on the parent show.,,
The dad had to die, so the hit had to end.
Seven seasons later the show was still a CBS comedy people actually watched, and they killed it anyway. The Big Bang Theory had already locked the ending. Adult Sheldon starts Caltech at 14, the same year his father dies. After the writers' strike, Holland, Steve Molaro, and Chuck Lorre decided Season 7 was the collision point. On CBS, Molaro said they never expected a hit at this scale. "We would never dare to assume we know what we're doing at that level." He was "literally crying" in the edit. Armitage, 15 by then, said, "I have to really constantly remind myself that if I'm ever sad about this ending, I can only be sad because it's been so incredible and so wonderful." Parsons noted that a lot of kids watching Young Sheldon do not even know Big Bang exists.,
George Cooper Sr. Died off camera of a heart attack in Season 7, Episode 12. Lance Barber's two best friends on the show delivered the news. Holland told Deadline it was always going to be off screen. "We didn't want to witness that moment of his death." They put it in episode 12, not even the penultimate, because viewers were waiting for the finale. "Because we're mean!" he said, then explained they also wanted to give George a win, the head-coach job, right before they took it away. Early talk had the funeral as the last episode. Lorre pushed back. Holland recalled him saying the show had been a positive family comedy and they should not "leave the audience wallowing in grief." The two-part series finale on May 16, 2024, moved past the funeral, sent Sheldon to Caltech, and cut to Parsons and Mayim Bialik as adult Sheldon and Amy, with older Sheldon writing a memoir. CBS ordered Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, with Montana Jordan and Emily Osment, for the fall. The prequel ended because the parent show had already written the funeral.,,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as
unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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