Is Young Sheldon new tonight on CBS? Examining the episode 2 debate

Is Young Sheldon new tonight on CBS? All conventional wisdom would suggest that it would be, given that CBS should want to promote it. This is a new show, a prequel to The Big Bang Theory, and it already has a full-season order after just one episode. More than that, this show maintained almost the entirety of its lead-in from the flagship show — while there were some negative reviews out there from some viewers, even if 75% of the premiere viewers stick around this show is going to be on the air for many years to come.

However, for one reason or another the network is now holding off on any more new episodes of the show until Thursday, November 2, when The Big Bang Theory moves to Thursday nights once more following the conclusion of Thursday Night Football. In turn, Young Sheldon will continue to follow it at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time — it is still the beneficiary of the lead-in, with the one fundamental change being that it will be off the air for weeks and viewers may forget that it is even around.

So why move the show in the first place? One of the biggest reasons for this may be due simply to the presence of another show on the air in 9JKL, which is airing tonight following The Big Bang Theory. CBS clearly wants to spread the love around and give many of their shows chances to succeed, and they are doing this tonight with the Mark Feuerstein family comedy that is loosely based on his own life.

Here is the risk that the series is taking with this decision — if 9JKL turns out to be a dud, then they will have wasted much of the lead-in that they could’ve used right now on Young Sheldon. This show could’ve kept the momentum going, and as of now the critical reception towards 9JKL is far from kind. We find ourselves personally in a tricky spot with the show — even though it may be somewhat derivative of a number of other comedies that we’ve seen over the years (especially sitcoms) we have been a fan of Feuerstein’s work for a rather long time and would love to continue to support him. (Royal Pains is especially a show that we at CarterMatt loved for many years.)

Alas, this is a gamble CBS is taking on Young Sheldon, but so long as the show does continue to get good ratings when it returns in November, it could still be one that pays off on the other side.

Are you disappointed that there is no Young Sheldon airing on CBS tonight, and do you think the network is making a miscalculation? Share below!

Meanwhile, be sure to click here right now to read our full review of the Young Sheldon premiere (if you missed it); meanwhile, join our Facebook Page to get more updates on this and other shows. (Photo: CBS.)