Could The Big Bang Theory season 11 utilize Young Sheldon characters?

The Big Bang Theory season 11 premieres on CBS come Monday night, and with it having a perfectly-suited companion now in Young Sheldon, the questions are clear. Are we going to see the new shows cross over with each other in some way? By that, we mostly mean whether or not we will see Sheldon’s sister again, his older brother, or maybe some other characters who pop into the show here and there. We here at CarterMatt actually spoke in a new interview yesterday with Lance Barber as to whether or not we could see his father George Sr. show up in spirit form, but other possibilities are more likely. The reality here remains that it makes some sense for one show to promote the other, which is probably why Laurie Metcalf is going to be turning up during the Big Bang Theory season 11 premiere, while her daughter Zoe Perry stars as Mary Cooper on the spin-off after the fact.

For the time being, it does feel as thought new Big Bang Theory showrunner Steve Holland is open to explore the Young Sheldon world, but there’s no hurry as Chuck Lorre and Steve Molaro are over on the new series getting it off the ground. He spoke a little more about that to TV Guide recently:

“They’re still involved on this show and I’m aware of what’s going on [with their] their show, but I think right now they’re just focused on getting their show up and running and making it have its own unique voice and be its own thing. So we don’t have any plans for a big crossover right now, but there are certainly things that can happen on that show in Sheldon’s childhood that he can reference on our show as a way to tie the two together. And then maybe down the line in the future there could be a bigger thing of seeing someone from Sheldon’s past. But honestly I think that they’re really just focused on getting that show up and running and making it great, and we’ll worry about the crossovers down the line.”

Much of this crossover potential would likely come on the basis of whatever the ratings are for the two shows. If Young Sheldon can keep more than the typical CBS comedy going rate of around 60% of the Big Bang Theory audience, we can see the two interacting with each other more. Even if it’s just emotionally we’d be fine to see The Big Bang Theory explore some of the themes laid out in the spin-off. We do think that there is a lot of groundwork that is laid with the relationship between Sheldon and his father that explains why he acts the way that he does, and his desperate need for care may be in part a symptom of the care that he never felt he received otherwise.

We will have more on all of this when The Big Bang Theory season 11 premieres on Monday, so be sure to check back in at that point to retrieve some additional coverage. For now, visit our CarterMatt Facebook to get more stories sent to you. (Photo: CBS.)