Young Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory’s spinoff prequel series, is almost grown up. The family comedy about boy genius Sheldon Cooper's tween years is entering its seventh and final season on CBS, which will make it the longest-running live-action broadcast comedy series currently on the air.
And after a lengthy strike-induced hiatus, Young Sheldon is finally set to return, just in time to benefit from a big Netflix bump, as Seasons 1-5 are streaming on there now.
Here's everything we know so far about Young Sheldon Season 7, including cast, release date and series finale date.
THE DETAILS: Typically, Young Sheldon premieres at the start of the fall TV season, but the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes pushed back the premiere of Young Sheldon several months.
According to Deadline, the writers' room reopened the week of Oct. 6, so scripts were in the works by the time the actors strike ended on Nov. 8.
On Nov. 13, CBS finally set its schedule for the season, announcing premiere dates for all of its strike-delayed shows. Young Sheldon Season 7 will premiere Thursday, Feb. 15 at 8/7c on CBS, followed by Ghosts at 8:30.
This is the second time Young Sheldon’s premiere date has been pushed back; Season 4 premiered in November 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.
THE DETAILS: Since its premiere, Young Sheldon has maintained the same core cast, some of whom we've watched grow up over the course of the show's run. The returning cast has not been announced, but we expect everyone to return unless we hear otherwise.
Main cast list
Iain Armitage as Sheldon Cooper, a brilliant teenage boy who doesn’t quite fit in with his peers in '90s Texas (not that it bothers him). He's a younger version of the character played by Jim Parsons on The Big Bang Theory.
Zoe Perry as Mary Cooper, Sheldon's loving and sometimes overly protective mother.
Lance Barber as George Cooper Sr., Sheldon's father, who doesn't really understand his genius son but tries his best to be a good dad.
Montana Jordan as Georgie Cooper, Sheldon's older brother, who became a teenage parent to baby Constance in Season 5.
Raegan Revord as Missy Cooper, Sheldon's twin sister, who looks out for him even though she doesn't always get along with him.
Annie Potts as Connie Tucker, Mary's mother, who has more faith than anyone that her grandson will turn out all right.
Emily Osment as Mandy, Georgie's older fiancée and Constance's mother.
Jim Parsons as adult Sheldon Cooper, who narrates from the future. (Parsons is also an executive producer of the show).
Raegan Revord as Missy Cooper and Iain Armitage as Sheldon Cooper in 'Young Sheldon.'Bill Inoshita/Warner Bros.
Young Sheldon Season 7 plot
THE DETAILS: Season 6 ended with Sheldon and Mary taking a trip to Germany so he could do a summer program at the University of Heidelberg. Meanwhile, back in Texas, a tornado hit the town, destroying Connie's house. The trip and the storm were both alluded to on The Big Bang Theory, as TVLine pointed out.
Young Sheldon Season 7 trailer
THE DETAILS: The final season will be a shortened season due to the strikes. It will be the shortest season in Young Sheldon history. Young Sheldon typically has 22 episodes per season. Season 3 had 21 and Season 4 had 18, due to the pandemic in both cases.
Will Season 7 be the last?
THE DETAILS: The hints were true: Season 7 will be Young Sheldon's last. CBS announced on Nov. 14 that the one-hour series finale will air on Thursday, May 16 at 8/7c.
"As a prequel to one of the biggest comedies, Young Sheldon proved lightning can strike twice," Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement.
"It set itself apart with a remarkable cast that felt like a family from the first moment we saw them on screen and brought characters to life with unique heartfelt stories that drew audiences in from the start.
We extend a sincere thank you to executive producers Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro and Steve Holland and the entire writing and producing teams for six wonderful seasons. We look forward to seeing their final season unfold and giving it a proper send off with the best episodes yet for their fans to enjoy."
"Being able to tell the origin of Sheldon Cooper, and expanding the story to include the entire Cooper family has been a wonderful experience," said executive producers Steve Holland, Steven Molaro and Chuck Lorre in a statement.
"We are grateful to our fans for embracing this chapter of the Coopers these past six seasons, and on behalf of the entire Young Sheldon family, we’re excited to share this final season with you."
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lorre said that seven seasons feels like the "natural lifespan" for Young Sheldon. "
The story of this extraordinary prodigy in a small town outside of Houston, in a family where he is very much a fish out of water — that story we've kind of told, and the remainder of his path leading up to The Big Bang Theory happens at CalTech, in California," Lorre said.
There were signs heading into Season 7 that it could be the last one. After Season 4, Young Sheldon was renewed for three seasons, and that deal is coming to an end.
There's a new Big Bang Theory spinoff from co-creator Chuck Lorre and Young Sheldon co-creator Steven Molaro in development at streaming service Max, as the producers plan for a post-Young Sheldon future (though recently Lorre has been vague and noncommittal about the status of the spinoff).
And as TVLine notes, there are a lot of narrative reasons why it makes sense for Season 7 to be the last one. The show is moving toward events that would be a natural end point for Young Sheldon's story.
On The Big Bang Theory, grown-up Sheldon said that two life-changing events happened when he was 14: His father died, and he moved to California to start graduate school. He will turn 14 in Season 7.
Young Sheldon has diverted from The Big Bang Theory's continuity many times — on TBBT, Sheldon said his trip to Germany happened when he was 15, for example — but these two milestone events are impossible to avoid. And the show is close to reaching them.
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