User reviews

It took until episode 5 of season 2 for me to realise that this has no laugh track, yet it is much funner than the show it spins off from, The Big Bang Theory. Don't get me wrong I have been watching TBBT from day one and will continue to watch it, but Young Sheldon is much much funnier.

Like another reviewer stated, it must have been a huge chore trying to find a child to play Young Sheldon, but they have done a fantastic job. For me the whole cast does a brilliant job, but my favourite is Montana Jordan as Georgie, closely followed by Annie Potts as his Grandmother and Lance Barber as his dad.

Excellent show and one I look forward to watching each week.

While I agree with the criticisms other reviewers have said about young Sheldon , I enjoy the supporting cast very much especially MeeMaw and Georgie . I'm guessing the creators couldn't manage to snag Laurie Metcalf for her iconic role as Mary Cooper , which makes for the very big shoes to fill (her real life daughter does however, do a good job) .... Anyway , good clean family viewing is very far and few in between so I'm grateful for this show .

This is a rare spin-off that far surpasses the original. Sheldon is surrounded by a cast of believable, fleshed out and funny characters rather than the shallow stereotypes in The Big Bang Theory. His antics, trials and passions were very relatable and nostalgic to me. This show has humour (actual humour, not the canned iCarly level "humour" of the original show) and, most importantly, heart. Kudos to the actors especially!

I have a problem with the reviewers complaining about how Sheldon is such a brat and at the same time say they watch TBBT. If they watch that show then they must know Sheldon is a brat. In this show, though, we have a 9 year old version of a bratty Sheldon. In both cases he isn't bratty because he's spoiled or mean hearted. He's bratty because he's a genius and a social simpleton. That's the point. I Iiked the show right off but I can also say that it has improved as these brief, less than 30 minute, episodes are able to develop the characters and relationships more. One reviewer complained about the lack of character development after only watching the first show! I also think the actor playing young Sheldon is doing a great job. As with the adult Sheldon the young Sheldon is sincere, wants to be good, knows his own mind but also knows that he doesn't understand social norms and so listens to those close to him although he reserves the right to not accept those norms. I enjoy the family dynamic and the situations that arise because he's special. This family is much more realistic than the Malcom in the Middle family, a show one reviewer touted as being at a level this show couldn't come up to. The characters in MITM were ridiculously stupid. The characters in Young Sheldon each ha ve a unique personality and do things that you have seen others do or can imagine others doing, like Sheldon's brother trying chewing tobacco, repeatedly spitting it out in disgust then saying "I must be doing something wrong". The writing warms the heart as we watch a family moving past disagreements and difficulties caused by their special Sheldon - all realizing that they love him and he's family which is more important than those disagreements and difficulties.

Not sure how people are crapping on this show,.. it is wholesome,charming and reminds me of a better version of Wonder Years..

how they made a better version of wonder years i have no idea,.. but here it is,..

maybe it's the influx of mindless remakes and zombie movies since early 2000s that have made people forget what good programming / writing and Casting look like!?

Sitcoms give me ulcers, yet TBBT is enjoyable despite the detestable canned laughter, hence Young Sheldon is an immediate improvement, though the beauty is more than skin deep. Initially it rides in tandem with its elder sibling, but has blossomed beyond its roots into an independent exploration of family dynamics, tackling everyday issues with empathy and humour.

Iain Armitage and especially Reagan Revord as twins Sheldon & Missy, are fabulous offering sensitivity, scope for growth and comedic opportunity not possible in TBBT.

When I first read about plans for a TBBT spinoff, I did not think that it would work in a million years. Maybe the reason so many people are disappointed is the huge difference in tone - and the fact that young Sheldon is way too cute. While TBBT is more or less a nerdy version of Friends, Young Sheldon is more like a classic family comedy with typical family problems and the special task of raising an Asperger genius. The key ingredients are the same as in TBBT though - fresh humor, well defined characters and a brilliant cast. For me the best new show of the season.

The cuteness is gone and what remains is stiff and boring. YS has lost his charm but the stories about other family members are carrying the show. The less YS is in the show the better.

Georgie's impending fatherhood, problems in the Cooper marriage and Missy's problems being recognized by her own family carry the narrative while YS walks in drops a boring fact and leaves.

I will watch it out of need to see what happens when the end comes. Georgie and Missy can carry the kids part of the show and the parents and me-maw are still holding their own. If they keep YS to the sidelines this show still can still be entertaining.

There's process and then there's chemistry. When the process is right, that's good but it's no guarantee of anything beyond the generic. That's where chemistry comes in. The cast of Young Sheldon has chemistry. Much of the negative criticism in this forum is unwarranted I think. Viewers have been conditioned to mindless action, filth and gore to the extent where they can't see subtlety or appreciate an aside anymore. Look at how Two and a Half Men degenerated season after season from suggestivity (an art form) to near depravity. This happens due to a never ending demand to push the barriers of whatever the premise originally mandated to ensure ever increasing laughs or scares or rushes of adrenaline. Same thing happened to American Horror Story. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Young Sheldon but by virtue of the nature of a prequel, it's future is probably our present. This is where the writing, directing and interpretation of the characters needs to tread carefully. Too many reviews in this forum were done after just episode 1. It's a great show with some old fashioned values. The chemistry between Sheldon and Missy is magic. Reagan (Missy) nearly steals the show. Zoe Perry deserves an Emmy. She nails the Mary role. As does Annie Potts with Meemaw. Let's face it, the "fish out of water"premise has sustained comedy since there was comedy. The Three Stooges and the Marx brothers in high society. Check out Hoi Polloi and Night at the Opera as examples that typify the notion. Without ill fitting tuxes though, the Stooges would've worn thin. Without Margaret Dumont, the Marxes would've become tired quickly. Penny is the Big Bang's Dumont. Now in Young Sheldon, he himself is the Dumont amongst a horde of red necks, dummies and well intended warm working class folk. That's why it works for me. I sincerely hope the producers respect the short shelf life that this series has and resists any temptation to move away from the excellent formula the first season has created. It's a series that I thought Hollywood had forgotten how to do. Young Georgie is just as appealing as Sheldon. He's a brat but warm hearted enough not to dislike him. Missy is feisty without being precocious. Meemaw is earthy without being a lush. George likes his booze and BBQ's without being a loser. And Mary is the glue. Forget the millenials who's short attention spans have cheapened their taste. It's a great show. I can't get enough.

Young Sheldon is a show that initially captured the hearts of many viewers with its charming and innocent portrayal of the titular character. However, as Sheldon has grown up throughout the series, his once-endearing quirks have become grating and repetitive. This can make it difficult to enjoy the show, as it's hard to look past Sheldon's irritating behavior.

That being said, there are still plenty of reasons to watch "Young Sheldon." The other characters in the show have grown and developed in interesting ways, and it's enjoyable to see their stories unfold. Additionally, the show is set in a unique time period and setting, which adds an extra layer of interest.

Despite the fact that Sheldon can be annoying, there are still moments when he is able to elicit genuine laughs from viewers. It's just a shame that these moments are becoming increasingly rare as the series progresses.

Overall, "Young Sheldon" is a mixed bag. While it's still worth watching for the development of other characters and the unique setting, Sheldon's behavior can be frustrating and detract from the overall experience.

I don't know what everyone else's problem is, but my husband and I watched the opener and loved it. It was cute and funny and I personally love the fact that Jim Parsons is narrating. We are both huge BBT fans and are especially fond of Sheldon, and we thought this was a great episode and can't wait to see more. The only thing I'm irritated with is that they're waiting a whole month to air the next episode. That is just ridiculous to me!

Will be interesting to watch and to enjoy. That said, i have to mention other reviews that tells me more about people these days. So, basic human reaction according to these people on IMDb commenting this show is when you see someone smarter than you, is to kick him, shut him up, make him stop, tell him he is weird, etc. It scares them and makes them angry at the same time, even though it's an imaginary kid on a TV show. What did this world come to?

Plot

Meet a child genius named Sheldon Cooper (already seen as an adult in The Big Bang Theory (2007)) and his family. Some unique challenges face Sheldon, who is socially impaired.

Cast

A kid who is competent though obnoxious beyond reason in real life and a host of decent actors from Lance Barber to Wallace Stone to Annie Potts to Craig T. Nelson to Ed Begley Jr and beyond.

Verdict

I despise The Big Bang Theory, I find it as funny as a dead baby joke it's embarrassing and though I don't like sitcoms anyway I do believe it to be the worst. For this reason I knew Young Sheldon wouldn't stand a chance, after all adult Sheldon was certainly one of the reasons I hated The Big Bang Theory so much.

Young Sheldon hits you with a better cast, better scripts, better plots and the kid is actually tolerable. So why the low rating? I said better, I never said good. It's still not very funny, it's still formulaic and predictable and it's still simply not very likable.

This may appeal to many, I'm simply not the demographic.

Rants

I've never "Gotten" sitcoms, do you not find they're so ridiculously formulaic to the point that they all have the same stories, same incidents they have to deal with, same gimmicks and cliches? I mean Friends had a couple of decent characters and therefore a few jokes hit the mark but the vast majority of others feel like they just ripped the script from a sitcom that came before it and tweaked it to suit the new shows mish mash of stereotypical characters. Not for me thank you very much.

The Good

No laugh track A few decent rants Decent supporting cast

The Bad

Just not funny Too formulaic.

After the finale of this previous season, I finally have come to the realization that this is one of the better sitcoms I have seen in a very, very, very long time. Let me just start off by saying that I never got into big bang theory. I had friends who were really into it, but whenever I watched it I just saw it as cringe nerd humor by people who weren't actually nerds... Or that's what I thought at the time. As time has gone on, I realize that there's a lot more inside jokes, and deeper moments in that show... and the reason why I've come around to it is 100% because of a Young Sheldon. It takes the best parts of Big Bang Theory and gets rid of the cringey laugh track style comedy for a more dry and intelligent sense of humor and extremely funny witty characters while also ironically being a more mature show about the interpersonal relationships of a family on the verge of collapsing. It's funny, it's super heartwarming, it's sad, and it's also extremely smart with how it handles its characters. I had zero expectations going into the show when I first started watching it but as the years went on, it's become one of my favorite sitcoms out right now. I love the fact that it's not afraid to pull back the comedic punches and delve into more dramatic, mature themes. I think once the show ends people are going to look back and realize how surprisingly high of quality the writing is in the show and it's going to go down as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. A+

I was surprised how many people dislike the pilot. I thought it was an interesting idea done well. And now that I've watched six episodes, I feel fully justified in saying this is terrific television.

The show centers on the childhood of The Big Bang Theory's high- functioning autistic genius Sheldon Cooper. Sheldon is a quirky savant in a very ordinary family with a religious mom and a puzzled dad. Too smart for his peers, the 9-year-old Sheldon is boosted to high school, where he promptly alienates everyone.

Some people complain that Sheldon is too annoying, but why would you want a series about a young Sheldon if you didn't want to see someone annoying? I find the kid version less irritating, primarily because he is powerless and thus is not, like his adult counterpart, bullying and browbeating and insulting his friends to get his way. Young Sheldon is just trying to survive and, more importantly, learn.

In fact, my main concern is that Sheldon seems a little too normal. He's got some funny habits and is a bit obsessive, but I would have expected someone far *more* obnoxious and weird. He really just seems precocious and socially clueless.

I wasn't surprised that Sheldon is socially inept or sometimes rude - if you are, then once again I have to ask why on earth you watched this show. I was surprised at the sweetness of the series. Sheldon's mom is wonderfully understanding and supportive, and even his dad has occasional moments of rough, loving insight.

Some people have said there aren't any jokes in this series, but it's actually very funny. No, there aren't any Catskills comics material, but if you think there are no jokes I think you just need the BBT's laugh track.

Young Sheldon" is a heartwarming and clever series that perfectly blends humor with emotional depth. The storytelling is engaging, capturing the childhood of Sheldon Cooper with a fresh perspective that adds depth to his character. Iain Armitage delivers a brilliant performance as young Sheldon, supported by a talented cast, especially Zoe Perry and Lance Barber. The show's mix of comedy, life lessons, and family dynamics makes it a standout prequel. Highly recommended for fans of heartfelt sitcoms! I would definitely recommend all seasons and then Gorger and Mandys First Marriage. Its absolute entertaning.

A big thank you for all those responsible making this show. Each episode was only 20-minutes long, but watching each guarantees an amazing experience. It left me in deep pondering after finishing the entire series (with my family). It's amazing how a light-hearted comedy can effect such a meaningful impact. I wish there were other shows like this with such high quality, but there was none, there is none. I'm sure that even years from now, there will be none. I'm just glad that I got to experience watching this show and am so thankful to everyone who crafted this 'perfection'. So excited for Georgie & Mandy's upcoming series, even if it ends up half as great this one, it will be better than all the other shows out there.

This is a spin-off. In "Big Bang Theory" Sheldon Cooper is from East Texas. In fact the actor, Jim Parsons, born in 1973, is the same age as my son and grew up and went to high school just down the road from us roughly 20 miles NW of downtown Houston.

So this series, "Young Sheldon", depicts Sheldon's formative years in East Texas (filmed in California) starting from about the age of 7 or 8. Ever faithful to the main "BBT" story he has a twin, a sister, who is much more ordinary and an older brother who is practically impossible to parent. His dad is a football coach and his mother is a strict Baptist.

When this series first hit the TV waves I didn't pay too much attention to it, being in a half-hour time slot with way too many commercials. So I rarely watched any. However more recently I have watched a few u-tube clips of two to three minutes each and gradually got more interested.

Now I found that my public library has DVD sets of each of the first four seasons and recently finished season three, where Sheldon is in high school, and season four where Sheldon is enrolled in college. Other than simply watching whenever I want, another even greater benefit is seeing each episode, roughly 18 minutes long, uninterrupted by commercials. The picture is great and the discs have Dolby surround sound.

I was very reluctant at first but now "Young Sheldon" is my favorite time-killer, all the characters are interesting and the writing is always excellent.

I saw a clip recently anticipating their 100th episode and all the main cast are excited and marvel at how long their run has been.

FEB 2023 edit: I quit watching after the 4th season. As the kids get older and stories venture into sexual experimentation and pregnancy I lost interest. The show lost its charm of earlier years, maybe a bit past time to call it quite.

FEB 2024 edit: This appears to be the last season so I decided to watch an episode where Sheldon is studying in Germany and quickly finds out he is NOT the smartest person in his Physics class. I quickly remembered why I seldom watch a TV series, COMMERCIALS! Back in the hey-day of 1970s half-hour TV series the episodes ran 25 or 26 minutes, which means they had 4 to 5 minutes of commercials. This series, like TBBT, episodes run 19 to 20 minutes, meaning 10 to 11 minutes of commercials. Twice as much as in former years. That's too much, way too much. I'll watch no more broadcast TV.

MAY 2024 edit: I discarded my aversion of TV commercials and watched the last two episodes, shown back-to-back this week. Yes, still way too little content and way too much commercials but I wanted to see how they wrap it up, with Sheldon arriving at Cal Tech.

I thought it was a great first episode and a brilliant idea. There's so many ways this show can go if done correctly. Taken a character already loved and showing us all the bits we hear pieces from on The Big Bang Theory. I think it was a bit reckless using an actor from The Big Bang Theory to star in a different role in this spin off but can put that down to me being picky.

Overall I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to seeing where the series goes!

I like the original TBBT series, but Young Sheldon is a huge step forward from a comedy to a realistic documentally description of Sheldon's life, naturalistic pages of americans life in 80-th. One of the best series ever created. My congratulations to director and other guys which are involved in these series creation.