‘Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’ Season 2 Premiere Review: A Strong Return for the ‘Young Sheldon’ Spin-Off — But One Major Letdown for Mandy md06

After a status quo-changing season finale, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage returned for its second season this week. The spinoff of Young Sheldon proved to be a hit for CBS, drawing a loyal fanbase eager to see how the eldest Cooper son, Georgie (Montana Jordan), adjusts to married life with his wife, Mandy (Emily Osment), while they raise their infant daughter CeeCee. The sitcom’s grounded storylines and charming cast have also struck a chord with critics, with Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage earning an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The season opener, “A Tie Breaker and a Huge Mistake,” wasted no time in catching fans up on how life has been for Georgie Cooper and the McAllister family. Georgie’s rise to tire-selling mastery has entered a pivotal phase, with the young father becoming a small business owner before hitting legal drinking age. After buying McAllister Auto and Tires from his father-in-law, Jim (Will Sasso), Georgie has all the headaches and ulcers that come from being in charge, while Jim is left feeling, well, bored.

Georgie and Ruben Receive a Crash Course in the Auto Business

Toward the end of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage season one finale, Jim received an offer to purchase McAllister Auto and Tires from rival tire tycoon Fred Fagenbacher (Matt Letscher). Jim wasn’t thrilled about selling his company to a man who once dated his wife, Audrey (Rachel Bay Jones), but the price was hard to ignore. (Also, are we ever going to talk about how Audrey was destined for a life involving tires?) Jim never had to shake Fred’s hand, though, because the two remaining McAllister Auto and Tires employees, Georgie and Ruben (Jessie Prez), pooled their resources to buy the store themselves. It was an unlikely partnership considering Georgie and Ruben never got along, but it was an opportunity neither wanted to pass up.

In the Season 2 premiere, we see how well Georgie and Ruben are working together, and, unsurprisingly, it’s poorly. The two disagree on virtually every aspect of running the store, and presumably only agree that the shop will indeed continue to sell tires. Georgie wants to contact suppliers and let them know about “exciting changes,” while Ruben prefers to take things slowly so as not to spook established relationships. Georgie wants to take on additional debt to open more stores, while Ruben has a minor panic attack at the thought of a ledger filled with red numbers. Their communication wasn’t going to magically improve overnight, but the growing conflict between the two sits at an unmanageable level.

Georgie has dreams of crushing the competition, global expansion, and TV ads with him as the self-proclaimed Dr. Tire. When Ruben asks how he fits into these plans, Georgie allows him to be a Head Nurse. They’re both looking to have a voice in the partnership because both men have a substantial amount to lose if the business fails. The beginning of “A Tie Breaker and a Big Mistake” establishes that Georgie and Ruben are $500,000 in debt, which, in 1994, when the show takes place, adjusts to roughly a million dollars in 2025. Ruben invested his life savings and borrowed the rest from his grandmother, while George accepted a loan from his mother, Mary (Zoe Perry), after she put a mortgage on the family home. There is no going back for either investor, and in this do-or-die scenario, failure will be nothing less than catastrophic for both.

The point being, any decision made for the future of McAllister Auto and Tires bears frightening consequences, further solidifying each man’s business philosophy at a pivotal time. Later, Georgie and Ruben once again hit an impasse over Georgie’s proposal to automate the shop. By purchasing a computer, Georgie reasons that they can hold off on hiring an extra set of hands by automating their inventory and paperwork. Ruben, already put off by Georgie’s big ideas, shoots down a computer as an unnecessary expense, which again, it was 1994, and computers were not household items. It’s yet another disagreement between the two, and it becomes clear they will need a third party to weigh in. If only there was someone they knew who once owned the store and now has all their money…

Jim Struggles To Find Purpose After Retirement

Image via CBS

Removed from all the auto shop drama, Jim is finally taking time for himself with a much-deserved retirement. He sleeps in without an alarm to wake him, and he tells a pleased Audrey that he’s going to take care of all the projects around the house he’s been meaning to do. Life is good. That is, until he does all the things on his list quickly and becomes incredibly bored. Game shows and day drinking can only kill so much time, so Jim tries to find things to do with an uninterested Mandy. The main reason Jim even entertained retirement in the first place was that he didn’t want to die at work like Georgie’s dad, George Sr. (Lance Barber) did, but so far, an idle life doesn’t suit him.

Mandy eventually gets roped into helping Jim work on his Mustang, but their time proves helpful to everyone when Jim learns about the problems at the shop. Even though Jim finally stepped away from the business, he made a visit back to McAllister Auto and Tires to mediate things between Georgie and Ruben. Jim leaves the shop, proud of himself for helping and feeling valued after a listless few days, content that he taught Georgie and Ruben how to compromise. At least that’s what Jim thinks, because within minutes of him leaving, the co-owners are back at one another’s throats over how to compromise on their compromise. After Georgie has another late night at the shop, Mandy has the idea of flipping a coin to settle any work differences. Ruben doesn’t go for the undignified method of coin flipping; however, they agree on a footrace and are soon sprinting around Medford, leaving the shop unattended and Jim stranded after his Mustang breaks down in the heat. By the end of the night, Georgie’s feet are destroyed from running in boots, but he can smile knowing he won the race.

‘Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’ Season 2 Kicks Off, but Without Any Focus on Mandy

Image via CBS

In a strong opening, “A Tie Breaker and a Big Mistake” starts the season on a lighter note while exploring the new dynamics for the characters. It was important to acknowledge that both Georgie and Jim are entering new chapters of their lives, and each was faced with self-doubt about whether they made the right decisions for themselves. A welcome new tweak to the sitcom will be to see Ruben, now an operating co-owner, with more screen time, as he’s the last character left on the show for Georgie to win over. Audrey was Georgie’s biggest challenge to date, and the first season of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage allowed them to bond in an organic and satisfying way. The odd couple pairing of Georgie and Ruben could sustain an entire season, and there’s still a wild card factor on the table regarding who they might hire to help with the shop. Maybe Connor (Dougie Baldwin) becomes the new hire to replace the vacancy at McAllister Auto and Tires? (One can imagine Connor saying, “Not it!” at the suggestion)

Speaking of Connor, the stay-at-home brother to Mandy, slowly became one of the most reliable sources for laughs in season one as his character shaped into a dry-witted musical savant. With so many major plot threads needing to be revisited, it’s understandable that his contributions would be limited at this particular moment. However, it should be interesting to see what a day looks like with Jim and Connor both in the house full-time. Mandy was able to play a role in soothing the inner turmoil of Georgie and Jim, but she wasn’t given a plotline of her own, which is a little surprising for a season opener when the character’s name is in the title. The second episode of Season 2, “Fan Mail and Old-Timey Organ Music,” should predominantly switch focus to Mandy, which is of interest considering we haven’t seen how her promotion impacts her life.

The show is called Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, so we do expect seeds of marital discontent to be sewn in future episodes. Mandy’s promotion at the end of season one should open the door to an increased amount of time with her ex-boyfriend boss Scott (Christopher Gorham), which was a possible issue threatening to impact the couple’s first marriage. A hectic time learning how to run a business will surely preoccupy Georgie’s focus, especially since Georgie and Ruben will need to get their house in order before they deal with the looming threat of Faggenbocker trying to put them out of business. Problems are on the horizon, but those realistic plotlines and the comedy that exists within them are what make Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage a show worth tuning into. If the opener of season two is any indication, the sitcom has plenty of laughs and drama ahead.