‘We Love Lance!’: Will George Sr. Return Again After Episode 12? ‘Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’ Creator Finally Speaks Out!

Lance Barber has officially returned via Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, but questions about when he will return are already coming up —something that co-producer Steve Holland has addressed. George’s death in Young Sheldon marked the beginning of the end for The Big Bang Theory spinoff. As established in the flagship series, the Cooper patriarch died long before Sheldon settled in Pasadena for the rest of his adult life. Despite that, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage found a way to bring back Barber to reprise his beloved role, but questions about his future are understandably piling up.

In a new interview with TV Line, Holland addresses the matter by starting with the fact that they love Barber but, ultimately, the decision to bring back George will boil down to the story that they want to tell. He acknowledges how The Big Bang Theory paved the way for this kind of return when they brought back Professor Proton via Sheldon’s dreams after Arthur Jeffries died but also mentions that the nerd-centric sitcom is a different show from the more grounded Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. Read his full statement below:

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.

How Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Can Continue Bringing Back Barber’s George

George Can Also Appear In Mary & Missy’s Dreams

Barber has remained connected to his former co-workers who are now involved in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, even attending several live tapings before he reprised his role in “Typhoid Georgie.” While he is open to coming back, he has made it clear that his future appearances should never tarnish the legacy of the Young Sheldon finale. So far, it does seem like they were able to achieve that in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage episode 12.

Assuming that the actor was happy with the way things went, it shouldn’t be difficult to invite him to appear again. The spinoff can continue utilizing Barber’s characters through dreams. While he appeared before Georgie in episode 12, it doesn’t mean that George cannot also manifest through Mary and Missy, who are also still reeling from the death of the Cooper family patriarch. There’s also nothing that is stopping the show from continuously incorporating George into Georgie’s dreams, especially as he follows in the footsteps of his dad with his own daughter.

Our Take On George’s Return In Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage

George Was Clearly Missed

Ultimately bringing back Barber this early in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage run is more of a testament to how beloved the ator is in the role Before Young Sheldon was cancelled there were petitions for the prequel to deviate from the established canon to keep George alive. Obviously, that didn’t happen but Chuck Lorre bringing back Barber despite his character’s death shows that they still consider people’s feelings about the Cooper family. Now that they have established this capability, then it would be a shame to not utilize it moving forward.