âGeorgie & Mandyâs First Marriageâ (which premieres Thursday night on CBS) takes place around 1995, which is why we see the cast watching âFrasierâ in its opener. Georgie refers to that multi-cam sitcom as a âlaughing show,â and compares it to that eraâs most prominent single-cam half-hour, âThe Wonder Years.â As he points out, while you hear audience members laughing on shows like âFrasier,â you donât on shows like âThe Wonder Years.â So, âIs âThe Wonder Yearsâ funny?â he asks. âWeâll never know.â
The question of âwhatâs a comedyâ is a hot button topic these days, given the debate over âThe Bearâ and its Emmy campaign in the comedy competition. But executive producer Steve Holland told Variety that Georgieâs comments were really a way for the new show to acknowledge that change in production style from âSheldonâ to âGeorgie & Mandy.â
âSwitching formats from single-cam back to multi-cam was, in part, designed to sort of give the show its own flavor,â Holland said. âBut we also knew that it was going to be a thing that people were going to notice and talk about. So, we thought, why donât we just own it right up front. Why donât we just come out and say, âWe know what weâre doing. We know thereâs a switch. This is a different kind of show,â and just sort of be out in front of it.â
Viewers wonât be shocked by the new look, however, as much of the feel and style of âGeorgie & Mandyâ stays true to the tone and visual colors of âYoung Sheldon.â
âWe were really trying to honor the tone of âYoung Sheldon,â and not just have a dramatic departure,â Holland said. âI mean, it still lives in that world. We still felt like it needed to have a continuity with that world. And also, moving forward into multi-cam, I think there are a lot of things that people react to that are sort of an old fashioned style of multi-cam that are very bright and very heavily laughed. We didnât think we needed to do that kind of show⌠I think if youâre a âYoung Sheldonâ fan, the fact that itâs a multi will fade into the background very quickly. It will just feel like youâre watching that world again.â
Behind the scenes, Holland said it took a bit of an adjustment to write scenes that take place on fewer sets, in front of an audience.
âIt does change the way that you structure stories a little bit,â he said. âBut as we got into it, we realized it also didnât have to be a super jokey multi-cam. We had a tone that was established on âSheldon,â and when we got into it, it felt very similar to writing scenes on âSheldon.â The bigger difference was because itâs a little more like theater, these scenes play out and tend to be like a little bit longer than they might be on âYoung Sheldon.ââ
âGeorgie & Mandyâs First Marriageâ follows Georgie, whoâs still in his teens when he becomes a father with the older Mandy (Emily Osment). The events come following the end of âYoung Sheldon,â which wound down with the passing of George Sr. and Sheldonâs shift to college. Left back in Medford, Texas, Georgie and Mandy have married and move in with her parents (Rachel Bay Jones and Will Sasso) and brother (Dougie Baldwin) to raise their baby. Georgie also gets a job at his father-in-lawâs garage, where co-worker Ruben (Jessie Prez) is less than thrilled.
âOne of the things that was exciting about the show is that this is such an unusual relationship,â Holland said. âThereâs an age gap and they come from two different worlds. They were sort of thrown together almost accidentally. As much as thereâs a lot of love there, itâs not going to be an easy road for them.â
And thatâs where the opening credits come in. The title sequence features Jordan and Osment doing a tango, choreographed by âDancing With the Starsâ alums Jonathan & Oksana Platero.
The idea came from fellow exec producer Steve Molaro. âIt was unusual. You donât expect it. And it really just sort of encapsulated the show in this really fun, interesting way,â Holland said. âAnd so, we brought in these choreographers who had done âDancing with the Starsâ and they were used to working with non-dancers. I think they only had about four days of rehearsal to get that dance down. And they just were fantastic.
ââIt just felt like that was right, because thereâs a lot of passion there, and thereâs also, a push/pull and an energy,â he added. âThatâs going to be true their relationship. I mean, no relationship is easy, and theirs comes with a lot more baggage piled on it thatâs going to make it difficult. These characters clearly have a lot of love for each other, but thereâs a lot of things for them to navigate. That shouldnât be easy, which is good, because that gives us stories.â (And fans of the âBig Bangâ universe know that this relationship does eventually end â hence the title âGeorgie & Mandyâs First Marriage.â)