CBS confirms the fourth season for the Young Sheldon series. Producers weigh in on possibly straying away from The Big Bang Theory plot.
Now that Young Sheldon season 4 is already penned in production and with Sheldon finally going off to college, avid viewers are curious whether or not they’ll see Mary and George Sr. split as what Sheldon Cooper talked about in The Big Bang Theory series.
Young Sheldon season 3 finale recap
Season 3 ended on a cliffhanger with Sheldon trying to convince his mother, Mary, to let him go to college.
Mary was hesitant to send Sheldon off to college considering he is still only 11-years-old. The mother of the genius child is afraid he might be too young for it.
Meanwhile, George Sr. was full-on supportive of Sheldon’s early send-off to college. He thought of it is an excellent opportunity for Sheldon to sharpen his knowledge more.
During the season 3 finale, George Sr. helped his son make a video presentation on why he should start college.
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In the end, Mary and George Sr. mutually agreed to send Sheldon to East Texas Tech as a full-time college student. Sheldon is already taking up weekly physics classes in the said school, so he might as well finish his studies there.
The last episode of season 3 entitled “A Secret Letter and a Lowly Disc Processed Meat” was not supposed to be the season’s finale episode. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the producers shortened Young Sheldon season 3’s production.
Young Sheldon Season 4 features Sheldon in college
Since season 3 ended with Sheldon entering college, it is expected that season 4 will focus more on Sheldon’s freshman year in the university.
Based on Sheldon’s life narrative in The Big Bang Theory series, started his undergraduate studies at the early age of 11. He graduated at the age of 14, from which he started graduate school in CalTech.
The spin-off series is set to introduce a new environment. In an interview with TVLine, co-creator Steven Molaro revealed that the Season 4 premiere will pick up where it left off—the supposed season finale for Season 3—Sheldon’s high school graduation.
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Young Sheldon Season 4 to stray from TBBT plot?
In its fourth season, the series creators are reportedly weighing in on the possibility of straying away from a certain plot revealed in The Big Bang Theory.
In the same interview, Molaro gave its thoughts on possibly breaking the TBBT continuity:
Any time you make a shift in a show, it’s a little daunting. I had been through it so many times on Big Bang Theory, but if you don’t make those changes and you don’t go for it, I think the bigger risk is stagnating. We know he goes to college, [and] I’m fairly loyal to the Big Bang canon. If it’s going to hurt the show, I’m willing to get a little creative with it, but in this case, I think it was time. We were all ready to do it. Creatively, it’ll be good to get him in a new environment, so [there’s] not too much fear about that.
One certain plot that may be stirred involves Sheldon’s parents, Mary and George Sr.—whether or not their marriage will eventually fall out.
In TBBT, the older Sheldon has shared that he once walked in on his father and his mistress when he was a teenager. It’ll be interesting to see if how the series creators will spin this story off.
In an interview with TV Guide, co-creator Chuck Lorre cited that grown-up Sheldon’s “perspective might not be entirely accurate.” Not to mention that older Sheldon also had the tendency to exaggerate on many things, including his memory on people.
Although, Lorre believed that Mary and George Sr.’s big fight in Season 3, involving Sheldon’s early start on college, was an important key in their relationship.
As he mentioned, “this was a chance to really let George and Mary work this out and really have some feelings and really fight about it.”
There are three ways that creators can possibly spin this off; first, the creators will stick to the plot and let Mary and George ultimately split due to a third party. Second, they’ll skip the affair and feature George Sr.’s death instead. As fans have seen him as a total softie and can’t even be possibly capable of cheating on Mary.
Lastly, they might not follow the TBBT plot in general and look for a possible storyline that’ll correct what the older Sheldon thought of his parents.
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