How Young Sheldon's Death Will Affect Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage

The death of a parent is a hard burden to carry, as Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) explains during the denouement of "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage's" parent series, "Young Sheldon." And he isn't the only Cooper coping with their grief. Viewers of the latest "The Big Bang Theory" spin-off can expect Georgie Cooper (Montana Jordan) and his wife Mandy (Emily Osment) to deal with the continued fallout surrounding the death of George Sr. (Lance Barber). But don't expect that sadness to swallow up the whole series.

"It's definitely a piece of the show and a piece of his character — he's [Georgie] still this bright, sunny optimist, but he has this little bit of pain that's still hanging in there," executive producer Steve Holland told Entertainment Weekly on the subject of how Georgie's muddling through his dad's death.

When the new series debuts, not much time has passed since the character's death in "Young Sheldon." That will definitely impact how everyone tries to move on from George Sr.'s death, as the show kicks off about two months after his passing. Fans can expect that short time frame combined with Georgie's vow to care for his family to affect the cheerful teenager and cause him to take some crucial steps toward adulthood during "Georgie and Mandy's" first season.

Georgie Cooper is set to become the family patriarch with his father gone, and the new sitcom seems prepared to trace those crucial changes in his life. It looks like his story will be all about balance. "I think he promised his dad in the Young Sheldon finale that he would take care of everyone, and I think he takes that responsibility seriously," Steve Holland told EW. "So he has a new wife and a baby and in-laws, but he also has a teenage sister who might be not handling her situation very well and needs some looking in on, and a mom who's grieving, and a grandmother who's still in town. So there's a lot on his plate."

That means Missy Cooper (Raegan Revord), mom Mary (Zoe Perry), and Meemaw (Annie Potts) will all have some sort of influence on Georgie's growing family life and sense of himself as an adult. We already know that all three "Young Sheldon" actors will return at some point during Season 1 of "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage," though they won't be regulars on the show.

While that might impact the way the story's told, it's possible the characters' limited appearances might help explain Georgie's sense of deep responsibility to them all — and the bitterness that taints his relationship with Sheldon, ultimately dividing them until Sheldon finally marries Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) during "The Big Bang Theory." Only time will tell how that all comes about, and fans will start to find out when "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage" debuts on October 17.