Young Sheldon S01 Mpc |link| Today

While The Big Bang Theory spent a decade deconstructing the eccentricities of Dr. Sheldon Cooper, it was the prequel series Young Sheldon that undertook the daunting task of reconstructing him. Premiering in 2017, Young Sheldon Season 1 is a fascinating study in tone, character origin, and the risk of shifting from a multi-camera sitcom format to a single-camera family dramedy.

The success of the first season rests almost entirely on the shoulders of Iain Armitage. The production team took a massive gamble casting a child actor to carry a network flagship, but Armitage delivers a performance that is uncanny without becoming a caricature. He captures the vocal cadences and rigid posture of Jim Parsons’ adult Sheldon, yet manages to inject a vulnerability that humanizes the character. young sheldon s01 mpc