Young Sheldon Ended for Everyone but Two: Montana Jordan and Emily Osment Got Spin-Off Call 10 Minutes Later

The Young Sheldon cast learned in a November 2023 Zoom call that the hit CBS show would end after seven seasons. About 10 minutes later, producers called Montana Jordan and Emily Osment, who played Georgie and Mandy, to pitch them a spin-off. Jessica Radloff's new book tells the story.

The producers told nobody else about that second call. Only the pair landed starring roles in the new series. Others in the cast later learned about the spin-off through industry gossip when they returned for the final season. Raegan Revord's mother, Holly, said, 'It just didn't feel like they cared.'

How the Young Sheldon Spin-Off Call Happened

The November 2023 meeting brought the actors together with showrunner Steve Holland and the show's co-creators, Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro. Holland told Radloff that, because the show was a business, the team had to call Jordan and Osment immediately to pitch the idea. Other published accounts of the book name Lorre himself as the caller. Warner Bros. TV's promotional video for the show that followed sits below.

The pair accepted, and the network built Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage around their characters. Holland said he then had to fight CBS for enough money to pay returning cast members fairly as guest stars. Until he had that money, he couldn't promise any other Young Sheldon star a role, which made it hard to tell the others anything. 'Some of it probably could have been handled better on our end,' Holland conceded.

Why the Rest of the Cast Felt Left Out

Annie Potts, who played Meemaw, felt it would have helped to hear about the spin-off in the same conversation as the show's ending. She had pinned the ending on CBS, but Lorre phoned to say the creators themselves had chosen to stop the show. Holland recalled that Potts stayed furious for a long time. She called the idea of the Cooper family dropping in now and then neither real nor generous.

Lance Barber, Sheldon's on-screen father, said the news landed differently with those left out. It angered some of them, he added. Raegan, who was Missy, Sheldon's twin, was hurt as well, according to her mother. Holland said Holly did not speak to him for about two months, an account she laughed off as dramatic. Iain Armitage's mother, Lee, called the lack of openness unkind, though she understood why the producers acted that way that day.

What Happened After the Spin-Off Call

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage premiered on CBS on 17 October 2024, in Young Sheldon's old Thursday 8pm slot, streaming on Paramount+. Jordan and Osment star as Georgie and Mandy, now raising a young family. Warner Bros. TV's promotion says the comedy returned for a new season on 8 October.

Despite the hurt, several have come back as guest stars. Potts, Raegan, and Zoe Perry, Sheldon's on-screen mum, all appeared in the first season, and Barber returned as the late George Sr. in a dream. Radloff's book, Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw's-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy, is out now from Grand Central Publishing.