What’s in a name? The team behind upcoming Young Sheldon spinoff series Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage was hoping you would ask.
That title can be read in a couple different ways. As Mandy herself, a.k.a. star Emily Osment, puts it to Entertainment Weekly, “It makes the viewer wonder if this is their first marriage or what could be their second marriage? Will their second marriage be to each other? There’s a lot of questions that are asked when you look at that title.”
Executive producer Steve Holland says that ambiguity was absolutely the point, though he doesn’t expect the true meaning to be answered immediately. “I don’t think it will be explored right away. I think how you should interpret that title, I hope, is intriguing, and a little playful, and a little mysterious,” he says.
Though the character of Georgie Cooper, Sheldon’s older brother, was first introduced as an adult in the series that started it all, The Big Bang Theory, it wasn’t until that show’s prequel series Young Sheldon that he was really explored. Young Sheldon — which aired its final episode in May after seven seasons — first introduced Mandy in season 5 as a former weather forecaster many years older than Georgie (Montana Jordan), with whom he eventually has a baby and gets married.
The title of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage hints at all of this, too, says Holland: “They’re a young couple, he’s much younger than she is. They got into this marriage in unique circumstances, so it’s not necessarily going to be an easy ride for them, even though they love each other and they’re in this for the long haul. I think it’s just a little hint that everything isn’t necessarily going to go smoothly for these two.”
The two definitely have a lot on their mind. After all, the series picks up a couple of months after the events of the Young Sheldon finale, which famously and tragically depicted the death of George Sr. (Lance Barber), father to Georgie, Sheldon, and their sister Missy (Raegan Revord).
Though Holland says the death won’t be “as heavy” in Georgie & Mandy‘s early episodes, “it’s definitely a piece of the show and a piece of his character — he’s still this bright, sunny optimist, but he has this little bit of pain that’s still hanging in there.”
“I think he promised his dad in the Young Sheldon finale that he would take care of everyone, and I think he takes that responsibility seriously,” teases Holland. “So he has a new wife and a baby and in-laws, but he also has a teenage sister who might be not handling her situation very well and needs some looking in on, and a mom who’s grieving, and a grandmother who’s still in town. So there’s a lot on his plate.”
Jordan, for his part, says he’s excited to see his character go from a “teenager messing around” to an adult with responsibilities. “In Young Sheldon, you got to see when he was a kid, and now you get to see him step up and be the father role and the man of the household,” he says.
The Big Bang Theory depicts an older Georgie as the wealthy owner of a successful car tire business, and the very first episodes of Georgie & Mandy hint at that eventual transformation. “As we all know, he grows up to be the tire king,” says Jordan. “So obviously I’d love to explore that a whole lot more. In the first episode you get to see a lot of the tire shop stuff and it lets the audience know that it’s coming back — he’s definitely going to be the tire king one day.”
Another thing Jordan is excited to explore is the relationship between Georgie and his father-in-law, Jim (Will Sasso). “I really love Georgie and Jim’s connection, and every storyline that they have together, it’s really great. So you get to see that and you get to see Jim comforting Georgie over his father’s death,” Jordan says.
Speaking of the in-laws, at the top of series, Georgie and Mandy and their daughter are living with Mandy’s parents, Jim and Audrey (Rachel Bay Jones). Therefore, in addition to everything else, they’re having to navigate inner-family politics. “This first season we’re transitioning into Georgie and Mandy living with her parents,” explains Osment. “They have two grown kids and then the grown kids come back and there’s a baby with them now. So it’s definitely a full house, and we get to see a little bit more insight into Jim and Audrey’s relationship, which can be definitely hostile. And we see where Mandy gets a little bit of her bite sometimes with Audrey.”
Of course, it’s not just Georgie who has a budding career. Osment says by episode 2, her character is already looking into job options. “I’m excited to explore her trying to find a new career for herself, whether that’s back in the weather world or back on television or somewhere else in Medford,” she teases. “They need it. They’re living with her parents to save money, but they want to get out on their own as soon as possible.”