After his death, George Cooper Sr. actor Lance Barber has a secret Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage involvement, and that makes Young Sheldon‘s finale much sadder. Despite its popularity, CBS had to cancel Young Sheldon after Chuck Lorre and his writers decided that it needed to stick to The Big Bang Theory‘s established canon. This was despite the show creating plot inconsistencies throughout its seven-year run. Still, the network and the creatives found a way to take advantage of the prequel’s popularity by continuing the Coopers family’s story in Texas via Montana Jordan and Emily Osment’s new show.
While Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is technically a continuation of Young Sheldon, picking up just a couple of months since Sheldon’s move to California, expect big differences between the shows. For starters, it is a multi-cam sitcom, which means that it is filmed before a live-studio audience. Secondly, the storytelling will shift its focus on the McAllisters, as they become the new show’s extended cast, effectively replacing the Cooper family. However, The Big Bang Theory prequel’s cast will still have a presence in the new series, including Barber. Sadly, it isn’t all that good after the Young Sheldon finale.
George’s Death Changed The Coopers’ Future
Young Sheldon Couldn’t Save George From Dying
Satisfying finales are hard to come by, especially for very popular shows. Lorre and his team’s work was cut out for them for the Young Sheldon finale, considering its circumstances when it had to end. After the dual Hollywood strikes of 2023, The Big Bang Theory prequel had to wrap up its seven-year run with just 14 episodes, which was made trickier by the kind of storylines it had to tackle. Among the narratives that the final season of the comedy/drama had to tackle before it fully bowed out, George’s unexpected death was arguably the most difficult to navigate.
Losing George drastically changed the future of Sheldon and his family.
Young Sheldon tried to delay George passing away just before the finale, with the writers knowing full well how beloved the character was. Because of this, the Coopers were able to spend as much time as possible. Unfortunately, since the tragedy couldn’t be prevented, it still had to happen. Losing George drastically changed the future of Sheldon and his family. After the clan’s final family dinner, where George and Mary shared their intent to move to the city, they can never be completed again. The Young Sheldon finale didn’t have time to fully explore that, however.
Lance Barber Attends Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’s Thanksgiving Live Filming
It’s A Cooper Family Reunion — Even Off-Screen
Sheldon’s family will unlikely be completely on the screen again because of George’s death. Despite the end of Young Sheldon, however, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage offers the chance for the Coopers to still come together, which is exactly what’s going to happen in its first Thanksgiving episode special. As confirmed by a social media behind-the-scenes post by Annie Potts, Mary, Missy, Meemaw, and Dale will spend the holiday with the McAllisters in the sequel. What the video doesn’t show, however, is that Barber also attended the live studio filming, as revealed in a separate post. Check them out below:
Sheldon will also not be part of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage‘s special Thanksgiving episode, because of his location. In the timeline, the boy genius is currently in California for his post-graduate studies, so while Mary, Meemaw, and Missy can easily visit Georgie and Mandy across town, it takes a particular narrative to bring him back to Texas. Regardless, however, at least the people behind Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage are actively looking for ways to get Iain Armitage involved. Because of this, it’s only a matter of time before Sheldon appears. Unfortunately, that cannot be the case for George.
The Coopers’ Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Reunion Cannot Include George Despite Barber’s Presence
Barber Cannopt Reprise George On-Screen
It’s great to see Barber reunite with his on-screen family on the set of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. After Young Sheldon, he continued to spend time with his former co-stars, but this is the first time that he was seen back on the set of a show in The Big Bang Theory franchise with so many of the familiar faces from the old series. Sadly, it’s also a reminder of the limitations that are brought upon by the death of his character in the universe. Even though Barber is on the set, he can’t reprise his role on-screen.
Seeing the Cooper family together on the heels of George’s death was sad in the Young Sheldon finale. That said, knowing that Barber is on Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage set, but only as a viewer, somehow makes it much more heartbreaking.
While Young Sheldon successfully retconned George’s cheating scandal, it couldn’t get away with skipping his death. There were theories about the prequel being set in an alternate universe from the one that The Big Bang Theory existed in, which could have worked under the original show’s theme, but Lorre decided to stick to the established canon. Seeing the Cooper family together on the heels of George’s death was sad in the Young Sheldon finale. That said, knowing that Barber is on Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage set, but only as a viewer, somehow makes it much more heartbreaking.
As previously mentioned, while Armitage wasn’t there that day, there are still so many opportunities to bring Sheldon back. Barber, on the other hand, can attend the weekly filming of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage regularly, and he still won’t be able to partake in the show as the Cooper patriarch. Moving forward, he can never rejoin The Big Bang Theory franchise as George again in a straightforward manner.
Can Lance Barber Ever Reprise George Again After His Young Sheldon Death
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Has To Be Creative To Bring Back George
There are some ways that Barber can play again, but the sitcom’s writers will have to be creative in pulling it off. The Big Bang Theory showed one way for George to appear in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage with the way they handled Professor Proton/Author Jeffries’ post-death role. Beyond that, the upcoming series can also utilize flashback sequences to keep the Cooper patriarch’s presence alive in the franchise. That said, however, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage cannot pull this trick frequently, or it will cheapen George’s death.
As sad as this thought is, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is better off focusing on George’s replacement in The Big Bang Theory franchise — Will Sasso’s Jim McAllister. This will be more helpful in endearing the new show to the established fan base of Young Sheldon, who loved Sheldon’s dad. From there, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage can save a Barber cameo as George for a very special occasion.
