Ever since it was announced that we would be getting a spinoff of The Big Bang Theory that focuses on young Sheldon and his family as he grows up in Texas, fans have been wondering what we might be able to expect from the show. Now, one star of the new series has filled us in on some details. Zoe Perry, who'll be stepping in to play a younger version of Sheldon's mother Mary Cooper, thinks that the audience will be surprised at the differences between the parent show and Young Sheldon when the show finally hits the air.
It's interesting because there is a tonal difference between Big Bang and Young Sheldon. Big Bang is a multi, and now this one is a single camera. It'll be really interesting for audiences to see where they're similar and how they diverge. I think audiences are going to be really, really surprised and excited about it.
Well, this certainly makes it sound like Young Sheldon won't have that much in common with The Big Bang Theory other than a couple of characters that we've come to know and love over the course of the latter show. For those who aren't quite in the know about how sitcoms are filmed, there are two traditional types of television comedies: those that are filmed with multiple cameras and those that are filmed with a single camera. Multi camera comedies like The Big Bang Theory, Friends and How I Met Your Mother (among many, many others) tend to focus on the familiar formula of set-up/set-up/punchline when it comes to bringing the funny, meaning that most scenes are primed to deliver one-liners in the hope of making you laugh out loud. Single camera comedies, on the other hand, tend to have a more filmic quality to them, and they also rely way less on zingers to make us laugh, preferring instead to tell more long-form jokes that might require for you to have knowledge of what the characters have been up to previously on the show in order to find many things funny. Single camera shows like The Office, Community, 30 Rock and Modern Family have excelled at this type of comedy.
According to Zoe Perry's words to Entertainment Weekly, it sounds like Young Sheldon will have a lot more in common with The Wonder Years, especially since adult Sheldon, played once again by Jim Parsons, will be narrating the series. I have to say, this is probably not what most fans of The Big Bang Theory were expecting from the new show. But, as Perry noted, this does give the show a chance to set itself apart from Big Bang while giving fans something else to be excited about with the comedy.
One thing that will definitely be interesting to see while watching Young Sheldon is how the portrayals of Sheldon and his mother Mary are similar or dissimilar to what we've seen on Big Bang. Zoe Perry's already working on her take on Mary Cooper, and the actress has an inside line on her preparations, seeing as how she will be playing the younger version of a character played by her real life mother, Laurie Metcalf. And, Perry admits that she's been using the familial connection to help her get ready for the role.
I did run one of the scenes with her because I was curious to hear her accent doing it. Although I actually didn't have her read the lines because then that would've just stuck in my head. But I made her talk a little bit and I rewatched some of her stuff.
Honestly, it sounds to me like we'll be in for quite a treat when Young Sheldon premieres some time during the 2017-2018 TV season on CBS. For what you can watch in the meantime, be sure to check out our midseason premiere schedule and summer premiere schedule.
