How Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Ratings Are Affected By The Absence Of Young Sheldon
"Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage" may be the most popular CBS sitcom of the 2024-2025 fall season, but it's actually underperforming its parent series, "Young Sheldon," by 14% in the same timeslot. CBS' No. 1 scripted show remains "Tracker," while stalwart news magazine "60 Minutes" tops the news and reality segment of the network's slate.
That's not an enormous drop in viewership, but it is fairly large, and big enough to cause some concern. What might be keeping viewers from tuning in? Is it the plot holes that "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage" has opened up with "Young Sheldon" and "The Big Bang Theory"? Ultimately, the problem might be anything from a lack of Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) in the series to the fact that Mandy (Emily Osment) and Georgie (Montana Jordan) don't appeal to people who were so devoted to the family dynamics of the earlier program.
The fact that the Cooper clan is heavily involved with the show, but are more peripheral to the antics of Georgie's in-laws, may be a problem for some viewers. But an even more pertinent point may lie at the heart of this small downturn.
The show may have a Mandy problem
A lot of fans of "Young Sheldon" admitted their skepticism about a Georgie-and-Mandy-focused spin-off because they never cottoned to the character of Mandy. Both shows have always had something of a Mandy problem, as not everyone was comfortable with the large age difference between Mandy and Georgie. Ms. McAllister was even voted the second least likable "Young Sheldon" character in a Looper poll, putting her below characters like the adulterous Brenda Sparks (Melissa Peterman). It was always going to be heavy sledding to get audiences to warm up to a character that low on the popularity pole, and this ratings dip definitely seems to reflect that difficulty.
Don't get us wrong; the show seems destined for a Season 2 renewal, and it's still the eye network's fourth most popular show and most popular sitcom. But "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage" still hasn't entered into the pantheon of ratings greatness yet. Only time will tell if it does.