Is Young Sheldon’s Mary Done With The Church? Here’s What The Executive Producer Says

Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Young Sheldon episode “Four Hundred Cartons of Undeclared Cigarettes and a Niblingo.” Read at your own risk!

Young Sheldon has returned for Season 6, and when reflecting back on Season 5, there is a lot to revisit. Georgie and Meemaw were detained at the Mexican border for trying to bootleg cigarettes, all so Georgie could support his child on the way. We also saw some follow-up on the church congregation learning of Georgie’s situation, and shunning Mary and the family as a result. The real surprise came when Mary stormed out of the church after rude behavior by fellow churchgoers. Is the devout Mary Cooper done with the church?

Executive producer Steve Holland confirmed that while we know Mary will eventually become as religious as she’s ever been in The Big Bang Theory, things will be different in Young Sheldon. Holland spoke to TVLine about Mary’s exit and how long it will continue:

“It’s sort of the through line [of Season 6]. We know from Big Bang that Mary finds her way back to the church and ends up more religious than ever, but it gives us a chance to tell other stories and show some other sides to Mary’s character. She’s not just a religious scold. There’s a lot more to her, and we’re having a really good time exploring that.”

Young Sheldon is making another big change to a character, but not one that breaks canon. Instead, the series is trying to show another side to Mary Cooper, and that she’s more than a “fire and brimstone” devout Christian. Fans will likely be happy to see Mary get some added dimension to her character and a chance to rebel a bit against her religious ways.