Before Sheldon, played by Emmy winner Jim Parsons, met Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Howard (Simon Helberg), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), and Amy (Mayim Bialik), he had a fairly humble upbringing in Texas with his family. The Cooper clan included his Evangelical Christian mother, Mary (Laurie Metcalf); twin sister, Missy; alcoholic father, George Sr.; and grandmother, Meemaw, who officially made an appearance on the latest season and was played by June Squibb.
More: ‘SNL’ hosting gig marks Dave Chappelle’s long-awaited return to sketch comedy
A show centered around arguably the most popular character from the show could be a great way to keep the series going after an eventual cancellation. The Big Bang was last renewed for three more seasons in 2014, so it’s possible that this season, its 10th, will be the last. CBS is reportedly still in talks with Warner Bros TV about the show’s future, and the proposed prequel series is reportedly designed so it could comfortably be on the air at the same time as the original. So don’t put away your superhero T-shirts and science dictionaries just yet.
According to Deadline, the spinoff, called Sheldon, could be a single-camera comedy that focuses on a 12-year-old Sheldon. It may be produced by Chuck Lorre, co-creator and executive producer of The Big Bang Theory, and Steve Molaro (executive producer/showrunner), as well as Parsons himself.
Whether this comes to fruition or not, the project certainly has the ingredients to become a success. Big Bang is consistently ranked as the most-watched program on network television, and Parsons has taken home multiple Emmys for the role. In fact, not only is he currently the highest-paid actor on TV, bringing in a reported $24.5 million in Forbes’ latest rankings, but four of the other core cast members made the top 10 as well, including Johnny Galecki ($24 million), Simon Helberg ($22.5 million), Kunal Nayyar ($22 million), and Kaley Cuoco ($24.5 million).
If CBS finds an actor as endearing (and annoying) as Parsons to play a younger version of Shelson, the prequel concept could help CBS create comedy gold once again.
