Movies News Talk
Though The Big Bang Theory was popular, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage can hang on Young Sheldon's best advantages over its predecessor. By the end of The Big Bang Theory, the show ranked among the top sitcoms on TV. For a show centered on a group of self-described nerds whose tastes seemed to deviate from the mainstream, this was a rather amazing accomplishment. Still, the sitcom might have been exactly timed given the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the start of HBO's Game of Thrones adaptation coincided with The Big Bang Theory's run.
The Big Bang Theory gained popularity right around the same time that usually geeky interests started to become more accessible, which helped to define the show. Its first spinoff, Young Sheldon, approached the worlds of science, Star Trek, and sci-fi fandom quite differently, though. Young Sheldon was a fish out of water in his hometown during his childhood and adolescence since his cast of characters consisted mostly of small-town Texans who had no passion in these topics. Sheldon's main attraction from his hometown was the contrast between his personality and it helped to explain the basis of his better attitude.
Now, Young Sheldon's forthcoming spinoff Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage seeks to extend the universe of the series even more. The focus of this spinoff will be on Sheldon's brother Georgie and his wife Mandy, who wed just before Young Sheldon passed death. Viewers already know that Georgie's reference of an ex-wife in The Big Bang Theory season 11, episode 23, "The Sibling Realignment," finally results in a separation between Georgie and Mandy. Still, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage has a relevant idea based on an average small-town family, a common appeal of Young Sheldon that The Big Bang Theory lacked.
Though the title of the series alone indicates the show will center on two young newlyweds trying to make their marriage work, it is not yet clear how big Young Sheldon's Mary plays in Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage. This is a more familiar and quotidian central conceit than the narrative of The Big Bang Theory, which centered on a struggling actor and a group of scientific geniuses. While most episodes of Young Sheldon saw George Sr. coach a football game or Mary host a church potluck, Howard went to space in The Big Bang Theory and Sheldon won a Nobel Prize.
Young Sheldon's relevant narratives helped the show to feel more anchored in reality than it had in past years. Though Young Sheldon's stories didn't all work, the show hardly suffered with plot lines that felt too far-fetched to be plausible. Relating to the heroes of The Big Bang Theory was more difficult, though. Their lives also seemed somewhat contradictory since Sheldon's conflict with Stephen Hawking was cartoonistically improbable while Penny's lack of employment as an actor was plausible if depressing. Fortunately, Young Sheldon will help Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage avoid this The Big Bang Theory issue.