Annie Potts Says CBS’ Decision to Cancel Young Sheldon Is a ‘Stupid Business Move,’ Says Cast Was ‘Totally Ambushed’

In a recent interview with Variety, the TV legend said she and the cast felt “totally ambushed” by CBS’ decision to end the hit comedy after seven seasons.

“If a show is starting to drag or lag or have a lack of stories or whatever, then you kind of see it coming,” Potts, 71, said of the show’s cancellation. “We were totally ambushed by this. I was, anyway.”

Potts’ costar Iain Armitage, who plays the titular young Sheldon Cooper, added that he wasn’t entirely ready to say goodbye to the series either.

“I totally get what Annie means,” Armitage, 15, said. “It’s also just hard in a really weird way that I can only really see if I step back and try and take a global view … I definitely think we could have done a lot more.”

Potts also called the cancellation “such a stupid business move,” citing not only its continued ratings success but its popularity on Netflix and TikTok.

Young Sheldon is the prequel to CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, which signed off in 2019. The series chronicles Sheldon’s time growing up in Texas before moving to California to attend grad school at the age of 14. Given the character is 14 in season 7, the time felt right for the show to come to an end, according to executive producer Steve Holland.

In February, he told Deadline and other outlets that The Big Bang Theory timeline played a role in the decision for the prequel to end with its seventh season.

“There are certain things we know happen in Sheldon’s life at 14,” Holland said. “We started talking about the future of show, and what it looked like. This is the right time for this story to come to an end, knowing that at 14, he goes off to Cal Tech. It felt like the right time to end it strong while it was on top.”

Still, for Potts, who plays Sheldon’s grandmother, Meemaw, the show’s ending is bittersweet in no small part because she’s loved watching her young costars — Armitage and Raegan Revord, 16, who plays Sheldon’s twin sister Missy — grow up.

During an interview with PEOPLE in February, Potts became emotional while talking about saying goodbye to the young cast.

“I’m going to cry right now,” she said. “I love the children, and it’s been a privilege to watch them grow up. [Iain is] so grown up, and when we started, he and Reagan would get on my lap and kiss me and play with my fingernails and my ears. They were tiny, and all day long, they just say, he would say — and they still do — ‘I love you. I love you, Miss Annie.’ “

While Young Sheldon is ending, The Big Bang Theory universe is poised to continue with a spinoff centered on Sheldon’s big brother Georgie (Montana Jordan) and his wife Mandy (Emily Osment).

Young Sheldon‘s series finale will air May 16 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.