While Young Sheldon’s spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage always seemed like it would inevitably have a major Sheldon problem, the show’s issue is not one that viewers might anticipate. It is always hard for sitcom spinoffs to establish a fresh new tone of their own. From Frasier to Joey, plenty of sitcom spinoffs have tried to make their main characters compelling in the absence of their former costars with carrying degrees of success. However, the title of Young Sheldon’s spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage alone proves that the new show has a compelling hook that doesn’t rely on Sheldon.
By The Big Bang Theory’s finale, it was clear that Sheldon had become the show’s breakout character. Ironically, this process was reversed by the time Young Sheldon’s finale aired, as viewers had come to love the rest of the Cooper clan as much as Sheldon. The continued adventures of Missy, Mary, and Meemaw would have been as engaging as seeing Sheldon’s life in CalTech, but there was one lingering mystery that was particularly hard to ignore. The Big Bang Theory revealed that Georgie was divorced, but Young Sheldon ended with him happily married.
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Isn’t Missing Sheldon (But It Should Be)
Mandy’s Brother Connor Feels Like A Sheldon Clone
This is where Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage comes in. Theoretically, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage could explain Georgie and Mandy’s breakup in a way that expands on the character’s existing personality, turning him from the idealistic Young Sheldon self to his older, more cynical The Big Bang Theory incarnation. There is just one problem with this. Since Sheldon was the connective tissue between The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, it is hard to imagine Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage existing without him. At the same time, his comeback would risk overshadowing the show’s new main characters and their shared story.
Like Sheldon, Connor is brusque, socially awkward, stiff, and coddled by his mother.
Like The Big Bang Theory’s upcoming Stuart spinoff, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage was left in a double bind. Ignoring Sheldon means the show risks disappointing longtime fans, but adding him to the cast makes the spinoff little more than a direct continuation of Young Sheldon’s story. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage solved this with the reintroduction of Mandy’s brother Connor, now played by Dougie Baldwin. Like Sheldon, he is brusque, socially awkward, stiff, and coddled by his mother. Connor’s Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage character is bizarrely similar to Sheldon, considering he is ostensibly an artsy, sensitive misfit.
Young Sheldon’s Connor Recasting Offered Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage A Story To Address Its Sheldon’s Replacement Problem
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Recasting Missed A Trick
In fairness to Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, Connor’s character was already established as similar to Sheldon in Young Sheldon season 6, episode 12, “A Baby Shower and a Testosterone-Rich Banter”. There, Connor was played by Joe Apollonio. However, since Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage already decided that the new show was going to recast the character, the spinoff could have introduced a new personality for Connor that was less derivative of Sheldon. If Connor were a touchy-feely, sensitive peacenik, he would be equally at odds with both Georgie and the McAllister family, but less obviously reminiscent of Sheldon.
This approach would also have made more sense when it comes to Audrey’s relationship with Connor. Although Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage proved Audrey can’t stand her son-in-law, Georgie, she has an undisguised soft spot for Connor. Audrey coddles him while his father feels alienated from him, mirroring the dynamics shared by Georgie, his mother Mary, and his brother Sheldon. The first episode proved that Mandy’s mother treats Connor like Mary treated Sheldon, further underscoring the similarities between Connor and Sheldon and making this new supporting star feel even more like a knock-off of the original hero.
Can Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Still Solve Its Sheldon Replacement Problem (How?)
Connor’s Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Role Could Evolve And Change
Before Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage first aired, Young Sheldon fans could have been forgiven for assuming the show’s spinoff would need Sheldon’s return. It transpires that this is not the case. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’s problem is not that it has no Sheldon and it needs one, but rather that it has its own version of Sheldon in Connor and doesn’t need one. Thus, the best thing that Young Sheldon’s spinoff can do now is make Connor more distinct. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’s version of Connor could still prove to be nothing like Sheldon.
Howard and Leonard from The Big Bang Theory were also awkward young men, but they were nothing like the obstinate, self-important Sheldon.
Admittedly, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage has already established that Connor is socially awkward. However, Howard and Leonard from The Big Bang Theory were also awkward young men, and they were nothing like the obstinate, self-important Sheldon. If Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage makes it clear that Connor isn’t as much like Sheldon as he seems, Baldwin’s version of the character could win over viewers on his own merits. Thus, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage can still ensure that its new star emerges from Young Sheldon‘s shadow.
