As we await the seventh (and final) season of Big Bang Theory spinoff Young Sheldon, TVLine is taking stock of the prequel series’ many nods, cameos and crossovers with the mothership.
First launched in September 2017, Young Sheldon fills in the details of Dr. Cooper’s upbringing in East Texas. The story starts off in 1989, and is told from the point of view of a more mature Sheldon, “who is older now [and] seeing his parents in a different light for the first time.” This altered perspective has allowed the spinoff to chart its own path and occasionally diverge from Big Bang canon without ever disrespecting what preceded it.
Whether you’re familiar with the prequel or simply curious, the following guide provides a rundown of all the ways the single-camera offshoot has paid homage to Big Bang, provided answers to some of our lingering questions (for starters, what’s a Bazinga?!), and painted a clearer picture of Sheldon’s relationship with his family, including his ill-fated father. Also featured are multiple Easter eggs, crossovers that took place after the mothership ended, and details about Sheldon and Amy’s future that were never disclosed on BBT. We’ve also included season and episode numbers for those who want to watch (or rewatch) select episodes.
TVLine will continue to update this guide throughout Young Sheldon‘s run on CBS. In the meantime, scroll through the following list to see if you’ve caught every tip of the hat to The Big Bang Theory, then drop a comment below.
MARY COOPER
Laurie Metcalf’s real-life daughter, Zoe Perry, plays her prequel counterpart.
GEORGE COOPER
Lance Barber, who played Leonard’s high school bully Jimmy Speckerman, plays Sheldon’s dad.
MEEMAW
Sheldon’s beloved grandmother was referenced throughout Big Bang‘s first eight seasons, finally appearing (in the form of June Squibb, no less!) in Season 9. Designing Women vet Annie Potts eventually took over the role, beginning with the spinoff’s third episode.
GEORGE’S DEATH
Sheldon’s father’s fate is predestined — and Young Sheldon doesn’t sugarcoat it. George’s mortality first cast a shadow over the prequel in Season 1, Episode 3, when George suffered a minor heart attack. Then in Season 4, Episode 17, Sheldon acknowledged that George was living on borrowed time.
Most recently, Season 6 of the prequel implied (in jest… we think) that George’s eventual demise would mark the eventual end of the series.
GEORGE THE ADULTERER…?
The Season 4 finale established the family patriarch’s potential fall from grace, planting the seeds for an extramarital affair between George and next-door neighbor Brenda Sparks. Seasons 5 and 6 continued to hint that something would happen, but the prequel pivoted come 13-year-old Sheldon’s spring break in Season 6, Episode 18, which is when Sheldon told Penny he walked in on his father with another woman.
BILLY SPARKS
Brenda’s son was established as Sheldon’s childhood bully in Seasons 3, 5 and 9 of the mothership. He made his on-screen debut in Episode 1 of the spinoff, when he taunted Sheldon with his pet chicken Mathilda. Since then, however, Billy has been portrayed as more of a nuisance than a tormentor, and hasn’t given the future physicist reason to add him to his all-time enemies list… yet. (We’re still waiting for Billy to shove a Mexican peso up Sheldon’s nose.)
ONCE AN ‘H-O TRAINIAC,’ ALWAYS AN ‘H-O TRAINIAC’
The boy genius was always loco for locomotives. In fact, the prequel’s first episode opened on a close-up of Sheldon’s model train set. (“I’ve always loved trains,” Adult Sheldon said. “In fact, if my career in theoretical physics hadn’t worked out, my backup plan was to become a professional ticket taker. Or a hobo.”)
SHELDON’S PERFECT PITCH
Sheldon loves to tell people that he has perfect pitch, which he discovered on Day 1 at Medford High. When it was suggested in the pilot by music instructor Ms. Fenley — played by Melissa Tang, who previously guested on Big Bang as Mandy Chow — that he pursue music professionally, the 9-year-old answered, “No thank you. Musicians take drugs.”
PROFESSOR PROTON
In the series premiere, we caught a glimpse of Bob Newhart’s alter ego demonstrating how to power a clock using only a potato — sound familiar? And a signed photo of Arthur Jeffries hangs on Young Sheldon’s bedroom wall. Come Season 4, Episode 11, Sheldon tries (and fails) to make friends at East Texas Tech by starting his very own club in honor of the children’s television personality.
