Young Sheldon Star Calls The Sitcom's Cancelation 'Stupid'
When CBS broke the news that "Young Sheldon" would be ending after Season 7, fans were devastated. And a number of the "Young Sheldon" cast and crew have also mourned the loss of the sitcom. Sheldon Cooper actor Iain Armitage shared an emotional goodbye to the show on social media, as did Raegan Revord, who plays his twin sister Missy. "I am feeling so, so heartbroken, but also so grateful," Revord wrote on Instagram after the announcement. Annie Potts, who plays their meemaw, Connie, also spoke out about the "Young Sheldon" cancellation, criticizing the move.
Potts told Variety that canceling "Young Sheldon" doesn't make sense. "I was shocked. I mean, the No. 1 show on network TV, No. 1 on Netflix ... It just seemed like such a stupid business move. Forgive me, but I don't know. If a show is starting to drag or lag or have a lack of stories or whatever, then you kind of see it coming. We were totally ambushed by this. I was, anyway," she said.
As Potts noted, "Young Sheldon" has been a consistently high-rated show over its first six seasons. So the decision to cancel it after seven seasons was a shock, especially when the sitcom's predecessor, "The Big Bang Theory," stuck around for 12 seasons. However, "Big Bang Theory" did have higher overall ratings, sometimes doubling that of "Young Sheldon."
Why was Young Sheldon canceled?
After it was announced that "Young Sheldon" would end after Season 7, the sitcom's co-creator Chuck Lorre explained the decision to The Hollywood Reporter. "Following [Sheldon] from 8 to 15 seems like the natural life span of the show," he said. However, like Annie Potts, Iain Armitage believes there were more stories to be told. Commenting on the show ending, he told Variety: "This is a real loss for me. More than anyone. I definitely think we could have done a lot more."
"Young Sheldon" certainly could have continued with Sheldon away in California — either splitting time between his life there and the Coopers in Texas (as it did when he and Mary were in Germany) or allowing Missy and Georgie to step up as co-leads, while also following Mary's life in the aftermath of George's death. However, the "Young Sheldon" creators and CBS know the value of the Big Bang Theory universe and want it to continue in some form, which is why a spin-off series starring Georgie and Mandy is happening. But a spin-off doesn't solve every problem, and the "Young Sheldon" cancellation is still the end of an era as many of the sitcom's stars won't be moving over to the new show. Raegan Revord had made it clear she wasn't invited to be a part of it, while there's still no word on whether Potts or her on-screen daughter Zoe Perry will appear.