Every Young Sheldon Season, Ranked

 

While waiting for the next installment from the Cooper family, fans can continue rewatching the best seasons of Young Sheldon. While the first season isn’t the most iconic one of the show, it is still a must-watch to get to know Sheldon’s parents, grandparents, and siblings. The second season, however, is the best one for the laughs, and the sixth season is a great rewatch for fans of Georgie and Mandy’s relationship

7Season 1 Hadn’t Yet Found Its Footing

…who is starting high school alongside his brother Georgie. He has a hard time relating to all the members of his family, including his twin sister Missy. However, he still has Mary, his mother, who is overly protective of her youngest son. Meemaw is also often on Sheldon’s side, even though she has a little less patience for his antics. During this season, Sheldon starts taking college classes and gets to know the person who is going to become his mentor throughout his advanced studies: John Sturgis, who also dates Meemaw.

The first season has funny and adorable moments as Sheldon tries to find his footing in the world. A 9-year-old trying to adapt to the teenage environment of a high school while relentlessly questioning his teachers provides plenty of hilarious situations. However, the first season might be a little awkward for some viewers, since they already know Sheldon but have to get used to new family dynamics. Young Sheldon season 1 is surprisingly liked the least by fans, and it makes sense. So many new characters surrounding an already iconic one can be challenging. It takes time for the show to find its footing and for the audience to warm up to the new context. As an early watch, it’s hard to believe this arrogant yet sweet kid is going to become the entitled adult that people find in the first season of The Big Bang Theory. However, as the show progresses, his change of attitude is slowly explained and viewers start to feel more comfortable with the character. Season 1 of Young Sheldon isn’t bad, but it’s not as engaging and interesting as the following ones, which have more space to build upon the characters.

6Season 5 Is a Season Full of Changes

Ahead of their self-titled spinoff, here’s a look back at the most memorable Georgie Cooper and Mandy McAllister episodes on Young Sheldon.

Season 5 of Young Sheldon is full of big changes. Until this season, the series had kept the same structure, with the characters going around their regular lives. However, this season sees a lot of character development as the Cooper family survives several obstacles and embarks on new journeys. George’s emotional affair with neighbor Brenda Sparks and Mary’s crush on the new character, Pastor Rob (played by Dan Byrd) threaten George’s and Mary’s marriage. Georgie drops out of high school and starts working on Connie’s recently acquired Laundromat/Secret gambling room. What’s more, he meets a woman 10 years older than him and lies about his age. The whole thing backfires when the woman, Mandy, finds out about Georgie’s age at the same time that she discovers that she’s pregnant. This last situation creates a gap between Mary and the Church, and Mary is eventually fired. George’s job is also on the line when the parents of his players feel that he is not doing a great job, and he’s eventually fired as well. Meanwhile, Missy struggles more and more every day with Sheldon’s entitled personality, and Sheldon continues his college shenanigans alongside Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter while he finally reaches puberty.

This season gives the character of Young Sheldon a more realistic development. Georgie, the most neglected member of the family thanks to the great amount of attention dedicated to Sheldon, decides to grow up faster and finishes up the season as a full adult. The character now awaits a baby, has a full-time job, and commits to a more serious lifestyle. Connie, enjoying her emotional freedom but resenting her old age, takes her love for the thrill even further, acquiring an illegal business. Mary needs to confront her own faith as she realizes the church community isn’t as loving and understanding as she previously thought. In the meantime, George resents both Mary’s relationship with God and with Sheldon, feeling displaced and unappreciated. As she grows older, Missy attempts to get the social attention in school that she doesn’t get in her own house. Sheldon, of course, continues being as self-absorbed as ever. All of this character development took Young Sheldon to the next level, but as a transitional season, it isn’t as iconic as other ones.

In Season 4, Sheldon graduates from high school ahead of time, while Missy graduates from elementary school. Sheldon’s valedictorian speech is one of his sweetest moments as he thanks his sister for supporting him. Season 4 finally introduces Sheldon to his life-long dream: college. Since he is only 11 years old, his mother negotiates for him to attend a college close to home, East Texas Tech. The series follows Sheldon as he adapts to college life, making big changes to his schedule, social environment and school subjects. He becomes closer to Dr. Linkletter (against the latter’s will) and even his assistant, learning that this job isn’t all what he thought it would be. The college experience leads to emotional but funny moments, such as Sheldon’s first encounter with philosophy thanks to Professor Erikson (played by Melanie Lynskey). Meanwhile, Georgie gets better and better at earning money, Connie rekindles her relationship with Dale, and Dr. Sturgis starts working at a grocery store after a big scientific failure.

Season 4 isn’t one of the favorite seasons of Young Sheldon, but people still really enjoy it. Seeing Sheldon, as still a small kid, facing his first academic tribulations gives people more perspective on the… This is Sheldon’s first real contact with what he is going to work in his whole life, Physics, eventually becoming a Nobel Prize winner. His relationship with the bitter yet intelligent Dr. Linkletter and the manipulative and clever President Hagemeyed make for hilarious new dynamics. In the meantime, Missy and Georgie continue to grow up as the audience roots more for Sheldon’s siblings. All in all, this season is pretty solid, with funny and heartwarming moments. However, it’s too focused on Sheldon’s college life, a problem that the following seasons make an effort to solve.

4Season 3 Follows the Young Genius as He Gets Bored of High School

With George’s passing on Young Sheldon, it’s interesting to look back at all the things Sheldon got wrong about his father on The Big Bang Theory.

During this season, Sheldon loses his close mentor, Dr. Sturgis, who is spending time in a mental hospital to work on his mental health. Feeling lost, he eventually lands on Dr. Linkletter’s class, to the latter’s chagrin. During this season, the audience gets to see some familiar Sheldon shenanigans from The Big Bang Theory. The genius boy becomes obsessed with solving the unified field theory, which eventually leads him to what becomes one of his most beloved pieces of popular culture media: The Lord of the Rings. Eventually, Sheldon realizes he is wasting his time in high school and insists on being allowed to start college, to Mary’s disappointment, as she doesn’t want her little boy to grow up so fast. At the same time, Missy finds a new hobby in baseball, even though she just wanted to learn how to play to impress a boy. Dr. Sturgis comes back from the mental hospital, but he breaks up with Connie to shield her from his mental health issues. Connie starts dating Dale, the coach of Missy’s baseball team. Meanwhile, Georgie continues to put all of his efforts into making easy money and on his crush, Veronica.

Season 3 shines as Sheldon starts to grow more and more into himself. However, fans also love getting to know the other characters. Missy grows into a teenager as she shows interest in boys and discovers something she’s good at. Connie continues to explore her dating options. Georgie grows into a self-sufficient young man, although his taste for school decreases as he grows older. Seeing every character in the show develop made the audience even more engaged with the series. What’s more, the humor of the show gets even better when every character gets their own storyline.

3Season 6 Focuses Mostly on Georgie and Mandy’s Relationship

Season 6 of Young Sheldon follows the characters as they create paths for themselves into the world. Sheldon is more established than ever in college, even sometimes sleeping in his dorm room and making friends. Mary finds a job with Brenda and George recovers his job as a high school coach. Mary and George reconcile after having a couple of rough years. Connie’s business is thriving as she adds more gambling machines and opens a video store. Georgie and Mandy have their baby, CeeCee, and eventually decide to get married. It’s clear that the show is getting ready to give all of the characters (or almost all of them) a happy ending, and the fans are here for it.

Season 6 became one of the favorite seasons of Young Sheldon thanks to Montana Jordan and Emily Osment’s great chemistry. As Mandy becomes one of the main characters of the show, she moves in with Connie. The audience also gets to know Mandy’s parents, the very likable Jim and the not-so-lovable Audrey. This season also focuses more on every character’s personal struggles, giving them depth beyond Sheldon’s life. Mary evaluates her faith and her purpose in life, George faces unemployment, and Georgie works on being a good father. Missy, however, is the one having the hardest time. As she grows older, her relationship with Sheldon becomes more challenging, and she understandably starts acting out. Sheldon, on the other hand, becomes more and more the Sheldon everyone knows and sort-of-loves from the first season of the Big Bang Theory. All in all, while not as beloved as the final season, Season 6 of Young Sheldon is a big hit.

2Season 2 Is an Iconic Season with Plenty of Laughs and Feel-Good Times

Season 2 of Young Sheldon follows the eponymous character as he tries to find his place in the world. Being only 9 years old, young Sheldon knows he’s very different. However, being such an autodidact, he uses science and academic work to figure out how to best get into social relationships, handle problems with his sister, or even fix things that annoy him around the house. With Sheldon’s shenanigans and the whole family putting up with his lack of common sense, the second season is known as the funniest one on the show. The series reaches a balance between Sheldon’s irredeemable personality and his good heart. Since he was still very small, it is hard not to simply laugh at his antics, while the whole family’s sarcastic comments added another layer of humor to the series.

Season 2 received some of the best scores of the series. It is a feel-good, adorable, and consistent season, and likely the most solid season of the entire show. After all, who could forget…that showed Raj, Leonard, Howard, Penny, Bernadette, and Amy as kids. The only reason Season 2 doesn’t make it to the first place is because Season 7 of Young Sheldon takes the series one step further with layers of nostalgia, harrowing moments, and strong character development.

1Season 7 Is a Bittersweet Send-Off for the Cooper Family

George Cooper is the stereotypical sitcom dad on Young Sheldon who loves his children, but does Season 7 finally answer TBBT’s long-standing question?

The seventh season of Young Sheldon closes with a bang — pun intended — as the show gives an outstanding departure to every character in the series. The season lays the path for each character’s future. Georgie moves with Mandy and CeeCee to Mandy’s parents’ house. Connie starts officially living with Dale. And after much thinking, Sheldon decides to go to CalTech for grad school — not that it surprised The Big Bang Theory fans. However, the last three episodes of the series have the most harrowing event in Young Sheldon: George’s death.

…Saying goodbye to George isn’t easy, and it’s clear that it has taken Sheldon years to heal from this death. Now a father himself, Sheldon (with a guest appearance from Jim Parsons) tries to be there for his own son, Leonard. With the help of his wife, Amy (played by Mayim Bialik), Sheldon reflects on the role of his father and the role he wants to have in his children’s lives. This is a bittersweet ending, but at least the show leaves viewers with the silver lining of the Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage spin-off.