The Big Bang Theory spin-off Young Sheldon finds their Meemaw

One of the many things that we’ve learned about Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory is rather simple: He loves his Meemaw. She is fiercely protective of him, and she is probably more nurturing to him than anyone else in his life.

When we actually saw this character on the flagship show, she was played by an iconic actress in June Squibb. With that in mind, we knew that the series would have a challenge trying to figure out a way to cast her for the prequel series Young Sheldon. You need someone who won’t just get lost in Squibb’s shadow, and also someone who can be funny, sweet, and certainly also sassy.

Hopefully, Designing Women alum Annie Potts fits that bill. As first confirmed via The Hollywood Reporter, Potts will be coming aboard the Young Sheldon show in the role of a younger Meemaw, someone who is going to be foul-mouthed at times, loving at others, and all around extremely entertaining. This is a series-regular character, so Potts is going to be around for the bulk of the story — it’s a little early to say a precise episode count, but obviously, the writers are planning to use her a lot in order to give her this promotion.

CBS has a lot banking on Young Sheldon giving the show a special preview following the flagship show in the fall before it settles into its normal Thursday spot after NFL football ends on CBS Thursday nights. We watched the trailer for this several times over, and we do think it’s rather good once you adjust your expectations that this is going to be just like the original version of the show. It’s incredibly different and that is more than okay, but you have to adjust to that and prepare your mind for the realization that this is not going to be the same exact thing. It’s surprisingly emotional, and there is a darkness to it when you remember that Sheldon’s father is dead at the time of The Big Bang Theory and there could be a point over the run of this series where he is no longer around. We anticipate that this passing is going to have a tremendous impact on why Sheldon is the person that he is as an adult.

There will absolutely be more time to break down this casting further as we get closer to the show, including what we think about the show’s structure and some of how they present Sheldon. In watching this, we’re also probably going to wonder why we don’t see more of his family on the present series.

Your thoughts

What do you think about this casting, and are you excited for Young Sheldon to come on the air? Be sure to let us know in some of the attached comments!

Also, check out the remainder of our other The Big Bang Theory coverage. (Photo: CBS.)