R.I.P.: Young Sheldon Creator Reveals Why George *Had* to Die How He Did
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Fans have been preparing for the death of George Sr. on Young Sheldon, but they could have never anticipated how heartbreaking it would be. How did George die on Young Sheldon? Keep reading to see how the prequel series address the death of the Cooper family patriarch. Young Sheldon is the prequel series to the massively successful CBS show The Big Bang Theory, which ran from 2007 to 2019.
It follows a young Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) as he grows up in East Texas in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Jim Parsons, who originated the titular character on Big Bang, had the idea for the series, which he passed to producers Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro. Parsons also narrates the show and serves as an executive producer. The show first premiered in 2017 and is currently on its seventh and final season.
Rounding out the cast is Lance Barber as Sheldon’s dad George Sr.; Zoe Perry as his mom Mary; Reagan Revord as Sheldon’s twin sister Missy; Montana Jordan as big brother Georgie; Annie Potts as “Meemaw” and Emily Osment as Mandy McAllister, Georgie’s fiancée.
George’s death was established in the mothership, but the details surrounding his passing were a mystery. All fans knew was that Sheldon’s dad died when he was 14 or 15 years old, and that his death had a profound impact on him. Heading into the final season, executive producer Steven Holland hinted that the show would address George’s death. “That is a thing that happens in Sheldon’s life.
This is the same character [from Big Bang]. We are living in the same universe as Big Bang and that sort of world building is important. Big things that [Adult Sheldon said] happened in his life without a doubt happened,” he told TVLine ahead of the Season 7 premiere, adding: “I don’t want to say what you will or won’t see, but things will get addressed.”
The beloved patriarch’s death was finally addressed in the third-to-last episode, and it was more emotional than fans could have ever imagined. Read on to see how George Sr. died.
How did George die on Young Sheldon?
How did George die on Young Sheldon? In “A New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture,” George Sr. was offered his dream job: the opportunity to coach college football at Rice University. The position would require him and his family to move to Houston, but everyone was supportive and the Cooper clan prepared to sell their house in Medford.
Those plans all came to a crashing halt the next day. As George Sr. was heading off to work, he promised to be home in time for a family photo shoot and told his wife and kids: “See you all later.” Not thinking it would be the last time he saw his dad, Sheldon didn’t bother to look up from his book.
Later on, Mary (Zoe Perry) opened her front door to find a distraught Tom (Rex Linn) and Wayne (Doc Farrow), who informed her that her husband had suffered a heart attack at work and died. Mary, Missy and Meemaw bursted into tears, while Sheldon just sat down with an unreadable expression on his face. The credits began rolling just seconds later.
Creator Chuck Lorre later told USA Today that not saying goodbye to his father is something he will “regret” for the rest of his life. “It was purposely a banal nothing moment in Sheldon’s life that he will struggle with,” he explained. “Because he learns it’s the last time he’ll ever see his father. He will live to regret that moment in his life where he’ll say, ‘I could have done that better.’”
George’s cause of death had not been explicitly stated in Big Bang Theory, but adult Sheldon alluded to his passing having to do with his longterm health issues. George had previously been diagnosed with a heart condition in Season 5 of Young Sheldon, so the heart attack was not surprising, however, it was still heartbreaking.
Speaking to Deadline after the episode aired, executive producer Steven Holland revealed that they always intended for him to die of a heart attack, noting: “I’m not sure if we actually ever said heart attack. It’s what we had always thought, internally.” He added that the death was also never going to be on camera: “We didn’t want to witness that moment of his death. We always knew we were going to deal with his death this season, but we never thought about seeing it on camera.” The only question the showrunners debated was when to kill of George.
“I think early on our thought was probably that it would be the final episode or that the funeral would be the final episode. As we were talking about it, I think Chuck Lorre said the show has been such a positive, loving family show.
Let’s not leave the audience wallowing in grief,” Holland continued. “Maybe there’s a way to do that and then move past it and show the family starting to put itself back together and end on a little bit more of a moment of hope.” Lance Barber has also spoken out about his character’s tragic death, telling TV Insider after the episode: “I have a selfish perspective on it ending the way that it is for my character because I think it’s memorable.
Selfishly, as a character actor, I get to play [the part of] America’s dad gets to die on TV.” He added that he hopes George’s death is talked about by generations as they reflect back on the show. “To have that as part of my legacy as a TV actor, I think that’s pretty neat,” Barber concluded.
