When a popular television show becomes grist for spin-offs, showrunners and their writers are immediately faced with the challenge of expanding a beloved universe in a manner that caters to new viewers without ticking off fans of the existing series. This wasn’t always a tricky proposition. When Norman Lear began spinning off shows from “All in the Family” in the 1970s (the first being “Maude”), viewers weren’t wildly concerned with canon; additionally, the characters who anchored the new shows were far enough removed from the Bunkers that the writers didn’t have to worry about mucking up backstories. As long as the laughs were big and plentiful, their audience would forgive just about anything.
Television in 2025 is much different. Fans fixate on every single detail, and will absolutely cry foul if a character behaves contrary to how they’ve been portrayed in the past — or, worse, if a previously established detail gets fudged. So writers must tread carefully at all times, right? According to “Young Sheldon” co-creator Steve Molaro, not really. And he cites one of the most celebrated spin-offs of all time as evidence that you can get away with a whole lotta fudgin’.
If Frasier can get away with it, so can The Big Bang Theory universe
In an interview with TVLine after the airing of the 100th episode of “Young Sheldon,” Molaro was asked if he felt hidebound to every single character detail that had been revealed about Sheldon’s brother Georgie on “The Big Bang Theory.” Was he fated to become Dr. Tire, the biggest supplier of tires in the state of Texas? Would he wind up being a twice-divorced father?
Perhaps, but in 2022, Molaro didn’t seem too worried about breaking canon if need be. After all, the “Cheers”-verse got away with it. Per Molaro:
“We don’t have a precise roadmap in front of us — and to some extent, we don’t feel handcuffed to things that were said on ‘Big Bang.’ I mean, there are some things that we will honor, but we also have to do what’s best for this series. If anybody points to something that doesn’t align perfectly with Big Bang, I’m happy to point out that on ‘Cheers,’ Frasier was an only child, and it all worked out once Niles suddenly appeared.”
This is a fair comparison in that Frasier was a far more vital member of the “Cheers” ensemble than Georgie was on “The Big Bang Theory.” As someone who watched just about every episode of “Cheers” during its initial run on NBC, I was vaguely aware of Frasier’s past, but not so invested in it that I freaked out when they introduced Niles. Obviously, those who were miffed quickly got over it because “Frasier” ran just as long as “Cheers,” and earned a revival in 2023 (which is currently in limbo after getting canceled by Paramount+).
As for Georgie, there certainly seems to be at least one divorce in the character’s future given that the title of his “Young Sheldon” spin-off is “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.” Will Molaro will make that a two-fer? We’ll have to wait and see. Just don’t expect George Cooper Sr. to rise from the grave anytime soon.
