Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is giving us something to be thankful for: The Young Sheldon spinoff’s Thanksgiving episode will double as a Cooper family reunion.
TVLine can confirm that Zoe Perry, Annie Potts and Raegan Revord are all set to reprise their roles as Mary, Meemaw and Missy in Episode 5. Craig T. Nelson, who recurred on Young Sheldon as Meemaw’s on-again/off-again boyfriend Dale Ballard, will also guest-star.
Potts spilled the news on her Instagram, sharing video (see below) from the set featuring Perry, Revord and Nelson, as well as spinoff stars Montana Jordan (Georgie), Emily Osment (Mandy), Rachel Bay Jones (Audrey), Will Sasso (Jim), and franchise newcomers Dougie Baldwin (who plays Mandy’s brother Connor) and Jessie Prez (who has been cast as tire store employee Ruben).
As previously reported, Perry and Potts will first guest-star in the series premiere (airing Thursday, Oct. 17 at 8/7c), while Revord will reprise Missy in Episode 2 (airing Thursday, Oct. 24). An airdate for Episode 5 has not yet been disclosed.
Conspicuously absent from the Cooper/McAllister family gathering is 14-year-old Sheldon, who moved to Pasadena to attend Caltech in Young Sheldon’s last episode. In a series finale interview with TVLine, Armitage said that he would be “honored to” reprise Sheldon on Georgie & Mandy, adding, “If I got a call to go back, that’d be so much fun. I’m also just excited to get to sit back on my couch with some popcorn and watch their show because they’re so good. But I could totally see myself getting in the khakis again, putting on the old penny loafers and bow tie, and going back out on the job.”
More recently, during a conference call with reporters, executive producer Steve Holland weighed in on just how interconnected the two shows are.
“We’re lucky to have this history, coming into this show from another show, but we’re always trying to be conscious of [making this] a show that you can come to cold without ever having seen an episode [of Young Sheldon],” he said. “There are great Easter eggs for people who are familiar with that show, but we’re also very cautious about wanting to make sure new viewers are invited in. And for us, part of the excitement moving forward on this is that we knew the Young Sheldon family still lived in Medford, and there were great possibilities for them to drop by from time to time. It has happened several times so far this season, and I think it’ll continue to happen when we find the right stories for them.”
