Young Sheldon (CBS)

Despite my aversion to The Big Bang Theory I felt it was my obligation as a television junkie to watch Young Sheldon, and you’ll be surprised to know – I didn’t hate it. Completely.

Set in 1989 Young Sheldon is exactly what it says – a show about a young Sheldon Cooper growing up in a small town to a relatively normal-ish family and the trials and tribulations he experiences being a pint sized super genius.

One of my major gripes with TBBT  is it’s lack of likeable characters. Everyone of them is smug, and sneering and that wears thin very, very fast. Even when your main character is meant to be a sarcastic dickhead there has to be vulnerabilities to them. You have to have a reason to cheer for them otherwise they become nothing more than that idiot in the office you hate and avoid any interaction with. And with that in mind, Young Sheldon becomes nothing like it’s predecessor. These characters are likeable, and there are moments of vulnerability and sincerity that shine through – particularly in a few scenes with Sheldon and his father (Lance Barber), so there is hope. Hope that Chuck Lorre can write with a heart and not just with laugh tracks in mind – or at least his co-writer Steven Molaro can.

As the main character Iain Armitage pulls off a pretty good Sheldon and is a lot less grating than Jim Parson’s version, but for me the real gold is with the family. Zoe Perry, who plays Sheldon’s sweetly harried mom, has already been singled out as the saving grace/break out star of this show and I can see that but I feel all of the supporting actors bring a lot to the dinner table.

If CBS had just made this a normal family sitcom rather than tie it in with their biggest hit they probably would’ve be on to a winner because while it’s not brilliant – there is absolutely NO need for older Sheldon’s self satisfying voice over –  it is pretty watchable, and I can’t say that about most CBS shows….. or any for that matter. But the fact that it’s relying  almost one hundred percent on it’s built in audience to tune in, could prove to be it’s downfall.  Lacking the over-saturated laugh track and “quippy” one-liners, TBBT loyalists could quickly get bored with Young Sheldon‘s relatively slower pace and format, and for the other half of the world that hates TBBT (it isn’t just me trust me) this show has already been written off as a prequel no one asked for to a show that’s run on way too long. And to be fair that’s a bit of a shame since despite some asinine dialogue (Chuck Lorre clearly wrote that part) and that fucking voice over (SERIOUSLY GET IT OUT OF THERE!) Young Sheldon actually has a great dynamic going with it’s cast and could have some real potential depending on which way the creators choose to take it.

Verdict? It will definitely see it’s full season out but so much will be hinging on it’s ability to entice it’s fan base to stick with it during it’s formative years.

Young Sheldon officially premieres on November 2nd following, of course, The Big Bang Theory