Young Sheldon's Annie Potts On Watching Her Co-Stars Grow Up
A coming-of-age story that celebrates one of TV's favorite fictional theoretical physicists. That's the basis of "Young Sheldon," the hit spin-off of "The Big Bang Theory." The prequel series begins with a 9-year-old version of Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) entering high school in East Texas. He aces his classes, corrects his teachers, and picks up his first comic book.
While the show is about a child genius, it is also about growing up. Sheldon enters college in Season 4, Episode 6, "Freshman Orientation and the Inventor of the Zipper," but his adventures in higher education are off to a rocky start due to accidental tardiness and a run-in with a slushie. He bounces back, later becoming a resident advisor and building a highly sought-after database.
Sheldon is not the only character growing up in front of viewers' eyes, though — the show also focuses on his siblings, older brother Georgie (Montana Jordan) and twin sister Missy (Raegan Revord), the latter of whom, like Armitage, was under the age of 10 when they filmed the pilot (via Variety).
"Back then we were doing more family-oriented stories and kid-friendly stories ... But now that they're young adults and teenagers, we're finding we can really open up the kinds of stories we'd like to tell and let things get more adult with everybody," said co-creator Steve Molaro. And according to one of their legendary co-stars, their growth has happened in the blink of an eye.
Annie Potts said Armitage and Revord are matching her in height
Annie Potts has played several different types of characters over the years. She's known for her roles as secretary Janine Melnitz in the "Ghostbusters" movies, Andie's (Molly Ringwald) manager, Iona, in "Pretty in Pink," and interior designer Mary Jo Shively on "Designing Women." While all of these roles may be different, they have one thing in common: Each character is a strong woman who cares deeply for her loved ones. These are traits also exhibited by Meemaw on "Young Sheldon."
Potts started playing the role of Sheldon's grandma, Connie Tucker, in Season 1, Episode 3, "Poker, Faith and Eggs," where she lends some of her signature advice and helps Sheldon perfect his poker face. Her character spends the series helping each child follow their dreams while teaching them how to speak up for themselves.
In an interview with Smashing Interviews Magazine in 2022, Potts talked about how Iain Armitage and Raegan Revord have grown up right in front of her eyes. "Oh, it seems to have happened so fast, too! They were just so tiny when they were nine. They're small human beings. Both of them have moms and dads who are smallish people. So they were smallish children. Then all of a sudden, they were big! Big as me," she said, noting that she is 5 feet, 4 inches tall. But no matter how old these characters get, they can never outgrow a grandmother's love and much-needed advice.