Skip to main content

'Big Bang Theory' spinoff will get a pilot episode directed by Jon Favreau

jon favreau young sheldon big bang theory jim parsons mayim bialik
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The upcoming spinoff series based on The Big Bang Theory is getting some behind-the-camera help from a pretty big name in Hollywood.

Iron Man and The Jungle Book director Jon Favreau will reportedly direct the pilot episode of Young Sheldon, the new series that explores the early years of Sheldon Cooper, Jim Parsons’ character on Big Bang Theory.

The upcoming series received a full-season order from CBS this week, which was announced along with Favreau’s attachment to the show. Favreau will also executive produce the Young Sheldon pilot, with is expected to premiere during the 2017-2018 season on the network.

Set to star Iain Armitage (Big Little Lies) as 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper, the series will follow him and his family as they go about their lives in East Texas, and offer a prequel story of sorts for the eccentric character. Parsons will narrate the series as the adult Sheldon.

Along with Armitage in the lead role, the cast of Young Sheldon also includes Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Raegan Revord, and Montana Jordan. The series was created by Big Bang Theory producers Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro.

Over the course of its first nine seasons, The Big Bang Theory was nominated for 46 Primetime Emmy Awards. It follows the adventures of Sheldon and his friends as they navigate life, love, and nerdy pursuits in Pasadena, California. The show initially focused on Parsons’ Sheldon and actor Johnny Galecki’s Leonard Hofstadter, fellow scientists at Caltech. Other key characters include their neighbor, Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, and their friends Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar). Parsons won three individual Emmys as the show’s lead actor, while the show won an additional six Emmys on top of those won by Parsons.

Young Sheldon is expected to premiere during the 2017-2018 television season.

Editors' Recommendations

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Watch Kentucky Oaks 2024 live stream: Can you watch for free?
Let it ride with these tasty Kentucky Derby drinks

The 2024 Kentucky Oaks is set to run today at Churchill Downs. Though it may not be quite as popular as Saturday's main event, the Oaks is a Grade-1 race and undoubtedly one of the biggest races of the year for the top three-year-old fillies.

You're just in time, as coverage of all the Oaks Day races is about to start, at 1:00 p.m. ET, and in the United States it will be televised on USA Network. The Kentucky Oaks is set to post at 5:51 p.m. ET.

Read more
The best movies on Amazon Prime Video (May 2024)
Nicholas Galitzine and Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You.

Amazon Prime Video is starting off strong in May with several new additions to its library of movies, including the premiere of the original romantic drama The Idea of You. Last year's underrated Christmas drama The Holdovers is also now streaming on Prime Video. And as far as we're concerned, a good drama is never out of season.

Prime Video lost a handful of movies at the end of April, and Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza is only sticking around through the end of the weekend. But everything else on our list of the best movies on Amazon Prime Video right now is still available. Just keep reading, and you can make plans to watch any of the films that you want to see this month.

Read more
The 50 best movies on Netflix right now (May 2024)
Jenna Ortega in Miller's Girl.

It should come as no surprise that this year's hit rom-com Anyone But You has a stranglehold on the top slot of the list of the most popular movies on Netflix. But it is somewhat surprising to see Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver completely disappear from the list. That's going to make Rebel Moon – Part Three very unlikely to happen, and it may even discourage Netflix from committing extremely high budgets to its original sci-fi movies.

More tellingly, two of this week's new additions are modestly budget dramas: Miller's Girl and The Judge. The former features Wednesday's Jenna Ortega, while the latter has great lead performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. So it's not a mystery as to why both of those films are two of the top performers of the week.

Read more