'Young Sheldon' Season 1 Air Date, Cast News: Jim Parsons Joins as Narrator, Helps Iain Armitage Play Sheldon Cooper
Sheldon Cooper, the massively popular character from "The Big Bang Theory," is getting an origin treatment in the upcoming comedy series "Young Sheldon" on CBS. Jim Parsons, who plays the character in the original series, has a huge part on the new show as its narrator.
Parsons is also the executive producer (EP) of "Young Sheldon," who pitched the idea of doing a story on his character's early life to the network. As EP, the Emmy-winning actor actively works and helps out behind the scenes and he's coaching 8-year-old Iain Armitage on how to play their character.
"He's like, 'I know you might think of it this way, but he [Sheldon] might think of it that way,'" Armitage said of Parsons coaching, as per People. "It can be from the smallest thing to the biggest change. It's very interesting, but he has a lot of great tips."
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The two Sheldons have been bonding for quite some time. In May, they watched the Broadway musical "Come from Away" together.
Parsons said Armitage stood out from all the other kids who sent in their tapes for "Young Sheldon." The actor told Today that there's a "decade of material" around Sheldon Cooper's childhood from "The Big Bang Theory" but he wasn't sure at first if they should go ahead and do the spin-off.
But it might not be a big gamble for "Young Sheldon" as viewers have warmed up to the first teaser released during the Upfronts. The producers didn't want the new series to closely resemble "The Big Bang Theory." Instead, they're going for something like "The Wonder Years" or "Doogie Howser, MD."
While there could be plenty of pressure for an 8-year-old to carry a TV series, Armitage has proven his capabilities as an actor when he stood out on "Big Little Lies" on HBO, which aired in February. The young actor has a pretty solid understanding of acting as he's a big theater fan and once did reviews of shows on YouTube. Check out a video of Armitage discussing the musical "Cats" below.
"Young Sheldon" will premiere on CBS on Thursday, Nov. 2. A special preview will air on Monday, Sept. 25.
