Annie Potts has criticised the decision to end Young Sheldon when the series still scores strong ratings for network CBS.
Potts plays Connie “MeeMaw” Tucker in the popular Big Bang Theory spin-off, which focuses on the exploits of a young Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) prior to the events of the long-running sitcom. The Big Bang Theory ended in 2019.
The 71–year–old actor claimed the show’s cast had been completely blindsided by the network’s choice to cancel Young Sheldon, which will air its final episode on 16 May.
Speaking to Variety after production wrapped on the series, Potts said she was baffled by the cancellation because it was “such a stupid business move” from CBS.
Potts claimed Young Sheldon was “the number one show on network TV” and had shown no signs of audience figures dropping, leaving her feeling “shocked” and “unprepared” for its axing.
“If a show is starting to drag or lag or lack stories, then you kind of see it coming,” she said. “We were totally ambushed by this. I was, anyway.”
The Designing Women star added she had found filming the final episodes of the show “really, really, emotional”.
“It’s a little village that we have,” she said of the show’s cast. “We’ve all taken care of each other and raised each other up. There will be a grievous hold in my life. There’s no question about it. It’ll get easier. Grief does, loss does.”
Back in February, Young Sheldon executive producer Steve Holland claimed they’d decided to wrap-up the series after its seventh season due to upcoming events in Sheldon’s teenage life.
“We started talking about the future of the show, and what it looked like,” he told reporters. “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.”
Iain Armitage also attended the press conference, and said: “Can’t we just leave it at: I’m tall and cool and I look like Jim [Parsons] now?”
It comes after Young Sheldon co-creator Chuck Lorre revealed the series almost didn’t happen until he saw Armitage’s audition tape for the titular role.
“This guy killed it. And if that had not happened, we wouldn’t have gone forward,” he said. “It’s the miracle of casting Young Sheldon. It was one we understood was likely not going to happen but it did. And this family blossomed around him.”
