Is George Sr. Coming Back? What Episode 12 Reveals About Lance Barber’s Return in Georgie & Mandy’s Marriage

Lance Barber has officially returned as George in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, but now, it’s curious if he’s going to appear again in the new show. The Young Sheldon finale was preceded by the death of the Cooper patriarch — a tragedy that was long-established in The Big Bang Theory franchise. Still, it was heartbreaking to see Sheldon and the rest of his family go through the motions of losing their father, especially since Barber’s version of the character had become well-beloved. So when it was confirmed that the character was coming back in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, there was excitement and curiosity.

When this news broke out, all remaining Texas-based Cooper family members had already appeared in the spinoff sequel. Still, because Georgie, Mandy, and Baby Ceecee live in Medford, bringing in Mary, Missy, and Meemaw were quite easy, if not imperative. Chuck Lorre and his team had to be a bit more creative for Barber’s return, however, considering his death in Young Sheldon. Ultimately, they mined inspiration from Professor Proton’s posthumous cameos in The Big Bang Theory by having Barber’s George appear in Georgie’s dreams. This, understandably, also raises questions about his possible returns moving forward.

Lance Barber’s Return As George Sets A Precedent For Future Appearances

George Can Return Via Other People’s Dreams

I have been quite vocal about not wanting to see Barber’s George return so quickly in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. While seeing him come back was a foregone conclusion, primarily because the public really love the actor and the character, I thought that it would take a while before they decided feature him again just to emphasize the loss of the Coopers. However, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage episode 12 actually does a great job finding a way to bring back Georgie’s father without undermining his emotional death in Young Sheldon. If anything, this approach could even be beneficial in the long run.

Since Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage has already found a way to bring back George without cheapening his death, the prequel spinoff has now set a precedent for Barber’s potential future cameos. Granted that it’s unlikely that it will be through another one of Georgie’s fever dreams, it can be via a variation of it. George can visit other loved ones such as Mary and Missy — two characters who are also still reeling from the death of George. If Georgie’s grief and anxiety can manifest his dad in his dreams, then his mom and sister can also have the same experience.

What Has Been Said About George’s Possible Future In Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage

George’s Next Cameo Will Be Based On Story Opportunities

After “Typhoid Georgie,” co-producer Steve Holland not only broke down the milestone episode, but he also addressed the possibility of seeing Barber again as the Cooper patriarch in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. He acknowledges the inspiration from Arthur Jeffries’ post-death appearances in Sheldon’s dreams in The Big Bang Theory, but he mentions that, ultimately, the decision to bring back George in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage will boil down to the story that they want to tell.

I don’t know. I mean, we love Lance. We love having him on the show. For us, it’s always going to be about the story. As much as we want to have these people back, we can’t force them into the show just for our own selfish reasons.

We talked about [distinguishing] this from the Bob Newhart dreams in Big Bang Theory, where it was much more self-aware, and he would say to Sheldon, “I’m in your head, you’re the one saying this.” We didn’t want to play that same dynamic with George. If we did bring him back, we would have to make sure we found a way that wasn’t just rehashing that version of ghost mentor that we did on Big Bang.

It’s understandable that Holland would be more careful in not giving the wrong impression about George’s future in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. At the end of the day, the Cooper patriarch is still dead in canon. “Typhoid Georgie” did a good job making sure that his return doesn’t forget that. So, while it isn’t explicitly addressed, the outing made it clear that Georgie missed his dad. Moving forward, ay possible appearances from George need to maintain this. Otherwise, it risks desensitizing viewers to seeing the character.

When Will Barber’s George Return In Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage?

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Is Already Confirmed For Season 2

At this point, there’s no clear timeline for when Barber will return as George in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. The good news is that the Young Sheldon sequel offshoot is already renewed for a sophomore year, which means that the CBS sitcom has enough time to stage another guest appearance for the character. Considering how close Barber remains with so many of his old co-stars, it shouldn’t be difficult to recruit him to do another cameo moving forward.

The question now is how his possible future appearances will be different from his original one? He can definitely come back through another dream sequence. That said, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage doesn’t need to be limited to that creative route. George’s next cameos could come in the form of flashbacks or even home videos — similar to how The Big Bang Theory season 12 was able to feature him despite the constraints of the timeline.