A Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Actor Secretly Broke A Big Bang Universe Record
"Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage" may be breaking new franchise ground by not featuring the young or adult version of Sheldon Cooper as a main character. However, it is still deeply connected to the "Big Bang Theory" universe as a whole. It has welcomed appearances from past characters like Mary (Zoe Perry), Connie (Annie Potts), and Missy (Raegan Revord), as well as some familiar faces like Melissa Tang, who plays different characters in all of the sitcoms. With her low-key appearance in Episode 8 of "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage," she scored herself a major accolade as the first actor to play three different characters across the TV universe.
Tang is one of several "Young Sheldon" actors who played different characters on "The Big Bang Theory," and now she's added "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage" to her filmography. She appears in the episode titled "Diet Crap" as one of the women Mandy meets at the pediatrician's office. Upon encountering a group of women, including Jackie (Tang), Mandy (Emily Osment) takes the opportunity to vent about the way Georgie has interfered with her new business venture of selling diet products. Jackie and the other women make her feel instantly validated and ask her to tell them more about the business as a sign of support.
The episode stirs up some major marital issues for Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy but ends with a major win for the newlywed mom as she manages to sell a ton of products. And although Tang's appearance is only a brief one, her role has a significant impact on the episode.
Which other characters has Melissa Tang played?
Like the role of Jackie, Melissa Tang's other appearances across the "Big Bang Theory" franchise have also been brief but impactful. Her first role in the TV universe comes in Season 9, Episode 2 of "The Big Bang Theory," where she plays Mandy Chao, a former off-screen love interest of Leonard's (Johnny Galecki) who has just returned to work at Caltech. Shocked by her return, Leonard stews over what to tell his wife, Penny (Kaley Cuoco), agonizing about the fact that he made out with Mandy while they were away on a research boat years earlier. Penny becomes jealous when she finds out and doesn't want the pair working together, but, hilariously, Mandy has completely forgotten her and Leonard's brief romantic encounter. Without ever realizing it, Mandy helped strengthen Leonard and Penny's relationship as they learned to overcome temptation and jealousy.
Tang later returned to the "Big Bang Theory" universe as Sheldon's music teacher, Ms. Fenley, in the pilot episode of "Young Sheldon." Having helped Leonard and Penny in her previous role, Tang's second character turns her attention to Young Sheldon (Iain Armitage), who is struggling to find his place in his vast new high school environment. Searching for a moment of solitude, Sheldon takes to the music room to play the piano, which Ms. Fenley overhears. Impressed by his talent, she presses him to pursue music further. But Sheldon tells her that he only has one passion he wishes to dedicate his life to: science.
Ms. Fenley briefly returns to the small screen again in Season 2, Episode 17, when she teaches Sheldon how to play the violin as part of his research into the Jewish religion. However, he drops it by the end of the episode, along with the notion of converting from Christianity.