Young Sheldon vs The Big Bang Theory - Side by Side

Welcome to MsMojo and today we're looking at the Coopers side by side in Young Sheldon and The Big Bang Theory

Sheldon Cooper

Aside from a slightly different wardrobe, Sheldon is played fairly consistently between Iain Armitage in Young Sheldon and Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory. While he’s often a comedic sidekick to Leonard in the sitcom, he takes center stage in Young Sheldon, carrying the emotional weight of the series.

Mary Cooper

Sheldon’s mother Mary was always portrayed as a devout woman of God in The Big Bang Theory. This characterization holds true in Young Sheldon, which isn’t surprising given that she has the most appearances on the original sitcom.

Georgie Cooper [Broll clip] Sorry - George Cooper Jr.

Sheldon’s older brother Georgie gets enough screen time in The Big Bang Theory to show him as a rough and tumble, if not always intellectually equal counterpart to his younger brother. The prequel series did lots to expand on this portrayal.

Missy Cooper

Sheldon's twin sister Missy was featured relatively early on in The Big Bang Theory, in an episode where all of Sheldon’s friends and colleagues fawned over her. She plays a grounded foil to Young Sheldon’s intellectual curiosity in their adolescent years.

Meemaw

Despite only showing up in one episode of The Big Bang Theory, Meemaw makes an impression, playing a sweet old granny to Sheldon’s face, and a fierce, no-nonsense matriarch once she’s alone with Amy. The prequel series leans into the edgier side of this persona, introducing us to a quit-witted cynic who teaches Sheldon to be more skeptical of people.

George Cooper

While George Cooper Sr. sadly doesn’t make it to Sheldon’s days at Caltech, he enjoys a much more generous characterization in Young Sheldon. Where The Big Bang Theory’s sitcom style often makes him out to be the butt of the joke, the prequel series portrays him as a flawed but loveable father.

Leonard, Penny, Raj, Howard, Bernadette and Amy

At the end of season 2 we get a glimpse of the gang as Sheldon reflects on whether he will ever find a group of friends to call his own. While Amy appears as her older self in the series, this is the only chance we get to see our favorite characters from The Big Bang Theory as kids.

Did you like to see these two shows side by side? Comment down below if you’d like to see another comparison of any series or movies that have multiple adaptations.