‘Young Sheldon’ Star Iain Armitage Previews ‘Satisfying’ Series Finale

The first time Sheldon Cooper graced TV screens in 2007, the star who would carry on the character’s legacy wasn’t even born yet, but Young Sheldon’s Iain Armitage isn’t so little anymore as the star portraying a boy genius prepares to bid adieu to viewers and the role originated by Jim Parsons on The Big Bang Theory.

“Big Bang came first, but it’s later in the canon of the series,” the 15-year-old Armitage notes. “It’s funny because, in a way, our end is their show’s beginning.” And while details surrounding the finale episodes remain secretive, Big Bang fans have a big crossover to look forward to with Parsons and Mayim Bialik reprising their roles onscreen as Sheldon and Amy for the first time since 2019 (Parsons has provided narration for the prequel since its 2017 debut).

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“That was always our hope, that we could find a way,” executive producer Steve Holland says of bringing Parsons and Bialik into the onscreen fold with Young Sheldon. “It’s a little tricky because the show takes place 20 or 30 years in the past, so it was figuring out the best way to make that happen where it made sense for the show.”  Even with the presence of familiar faces, the finale will focus on the Texas family at the heart of this comedy.

“It’s going to be a bit of an emotional roller coaster,” Holland admits as he reveals, “We’re really trying to close the gap on Sheldon’s life in Texas before he moves to California and starts the life that we pick up on 10 years later in Big Bang Theory.”

As fans who tuned into the penultimate episodes know by now, Cooper family patriarch George Sr. (Lance Barber) tragically died after having a heart attack offscreen, and based on the back-to-back final episodes titled “Funeral” and “Memoir,” there’s sure to be some tearjerker moments.

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Regarding how he hopes fans will feel, Armitage says, “I would like this ending to be satisfying, especially for fans of The Big Bang Theory.” He says, “[I want them to watch and] really feel like it has come full circle because I think a show like this is only as satisfying as its ending. And Big Bang‘s ending was so incredible. And now in Young Sheldon, we’ve been able to hint to Sheldon and Amy having kids and having a wonderful life together. And so I hope this ending will be just as satisfying as that.”

As for Armitage, he isn’t opposed to revisiting the character that made him a household name. “I’d be honored to. I love playing Sheldon so much,” the actor gushes. While there’s already another spinoff, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, in the works surrounding Sheldon’s brother Georgie (Montana Jordan) and his wife Mandy (Emily Osment), Armitage floats another possible idea.

“Maybe Mr. Jim and I, they could do some sort of AI merge of us and make an even older Sheldon. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Young Sheldon, Series finale, Thursday, May 16, Begins 8/7c, CBS