Young Sheldon Season 5 is a big season for the CBS series thus far, as a shocking canonical twist marked a shift in the show's tone slightly. While it’s safe to assume Young Sheldon might skew a bit more dramatic on occasion, the fun will never stop completely. In fact, CinemaBlend can reveal that two very magical guest stars will appear in the upcoming season finale in the form of the legendary Penn and Teller, which should be very exciting for fans of The Big Bang Theory.
I spoke recently to Penn Jillette and Teller following their elimination from Season 7 of The Masked Singer, which kept them present on the small screen during Penn & Teller: Fool Us' midseason hiatus. It turns out the reality singing competition won’t be the only time we’ll see the Vegas entertainers in a primetime slot sans illusions. While talking about his past acting roles in Hollywood, Jillette let it fly that they’ll also be guest-starring on the season finale of Young Sheldon, and sounded right enthused about it.
I really like almost any of the stuff that I’ve done. I liked doing Friends, I liked doing Miami Vice. We’re going to be showing up– I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this, but I will–we’ll be showing up on the season finale of Young Sheldon. And that was a blast to do. Just a total solid blast.
Teller didn’t have any comment to add, but that’s probably not a surprise to anyone, since he typically doesn’t speak in public or in interviews. If he had voice any insights, he might have mentioned how this will be mark his fourth appearance within The Big Bang Theory universe. He appeared in the original series for a trio of episodes as Larry Fowler, the father of Sheldon’s future wife, Amy, who has also made a cameo on Young Sheldon previously, albeit in voiceover form. Much like the actor playing him, Fowler was also a man of few words.
It’s unknown at this point exactly what role Penn & Teller will play in the prequel, though there are several possibilities. The magician duo could potentially appear as deaged versions of themselves putting on one of their famed acts from the early '90s, without it needing to directly tie into Big Bang Theory. Co-creator Steve Molaro confirmed Young Sheldon isn’t beholden to the canon of Chuck Lorre's The Big Bang Theory, and it wouldn’t be too hard to argue that Teller and Larry Fowler just look remarkably similar. There's definitely room for jokes there, somehow.
It’s also possible that Teller will full-on reprise the role of Larry Fowler on Young Sheldon, possibly setting up a situation where Sheldon is about to have a brush with his future father-in-law. It's not clear how Penn Jillette would factor into that option, but it wouldn't take much.
A third possibility is that Penn & Teller are playing fictionalized characters in the Young Sheldon universe that have nothing to do with magic or the Fowler family. It's a concept this pair of shows has pulled off many times before. While celebrities like William Shatner and Wil Wheaton appeared as heightened versions of themselves in The Big Bang Theory, others like Bob Newhart (who has a great story about how he got involved) appeared as fictional notable figures in Sheldon’s life, and not as themselves. Considering the pair's stance on religion and pseudo-science, I doubt they'll play priests or snake oil salesmen.
Young Sheldon airs on CBS on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET, with the Young Sheldon Season 5 finale planned for May 19th. Perhaps we'll know before then how the magician duo will pop up, but until that happens, the action is really heating up with Georgie’s pregnancy drama, and who knows what other big things may happen in Sheldon’s life before this season’s end?
