The Big Bang Theory may well become the textbook example of a slow-burner in the modern TV landscape. When Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady’s science-heavy sitcom premiered almost a decade ago, CBS’ newfound drama was hampered by mixed reviews, and it wasn’t until the show’s sophomore run that The Big Bang Theory started to reverse its fortunes.
Following its tenth year on the airwaves, Lorre and Prady’s brainy sitcom remains one of the most successful shows in the medium, and it’s small wonder why Warner Bros. TV and CBS issued the go-ahead for a spinoff series back in November, one designed to focus on the inimitable theoretical physicist known as Sheldon Cooper. Now in active development, it’s understood the planned offshoot will focus on a 12-year-old Sheldon who spends his youth growing up in Galveston, Texas. Jim Parsons may leave some mighty big boots to fill, but the actor himself recently dished on CBS’ spinoff while speaking with Entertainment Tonight.
Unlike The Big Bang Theory, which is shot in front of a live studio audience, the Cooper series will be a single-camera sitcom, with siblings Missy and George Jr. expected to feature at some point. Produced by Big Bang alum Steve Molaro, here’s what Parsons had to say about the upcoming standalone series:
“[The writers] have done, from the beginning, such a good job of building such a history and a layered nature to all these characters. It just seems like a really wasted opportunity if you don’t decide to explore the origin story with that. I mean, they’ve layered so many things in there over the past decade that is already there to be drawn from.”
Alas, without any casting news to report, it’s still early days for CBS’s planned spinoff series, but we’ll be keeping you right up-to-date with all the latest on both Sheldon Cooper and the core Big Bang series over the coming weeks.