The producers behind CBS’s new “Young Sheldon” spinoff “Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage” knew the show needed to immediately address the comedy elephant in the room: Unlike “Sheldon,” which was a single-camera half-hour, “Georgie and Mandy” is a multi-cam laffer shot in front of a live studio audience.
That, of course, is also how “The Big Bang Theory” — the hit that spawned “Young Sheldon” — was taped. The multi-to-single-to-multi camera whiplash from “Big Bang” to “Sheldon” to “Georgie & Mandy” may be unprecedented in TV history. Which is why the show has Georgie (Montana Jordan) alluding to it during the very first minutes of the premiere episode.
“Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” (which premieres Thursday night on CBS) takes place around 1995, which is why we see the cast watching “Frasier” in its opener. Georgie refers to that multi-cam sitcom as a “laughing show,” and compares it to that era’s most prominent single-cam half-hour, “The Wonder Years.” As he points out, while you hear audience members laughing on shows like “Frasier,” you don’t on shows like “The Wonder Years.” So, “Is ‘The Wonder Years’ funny?” he asks. “We’ll never know.”
The question of “what’s a comedy” is a hot button topic these days, given the debate over “The Bear” and its Emmy campaign in the comedy competition. But executive producer Steve Holland told Variety that Georgie’s comments were really a way for the new show to acknowledge that change in production style from “Sheldon” to “Georgie & Mandy.”
“Switching formats from single-cam back to multi-cam was, in part, designed to sort of give the show its own flavor,” Holland said. “But we also knew that it was going to be a thing that people were going to notice and talk about. So, we thought, why don’t we just own it right up front. Why don’t we just come out and say, ‘We know what we’re doing. We know there’s a switch. This is a different kind of show,’ and just sort of be out in front of it.”
Viewers won’t be shocked by the new look, however, as much of the feel and style of “Georgie & Mandy” stays true to the tone and visual colors of “Young Sheldon.”
“We were really trying to honor the tone of ‘Young Sheldon,’ and not just have a dramatic departure,” Holland said. “I mean, it still lives in that world. We still felt like it needed to have a continuity with that world. And also, moving forward into multi-cam, I think there are a lot of things that people react to that are sort of an old fashioned style of multi-cam that are very bright and very heavily laughed. We didn’t think we needed to do that kind of show… I think if you’re a ‘Young Sheldon’ fan, the fact that it’s a multi will fade into the background very quickly. It will just feel like you’re watching that world again.”
Behind the scenes, Holland said it took a bit of an adjustment to write scenes that take place on fewer sets, in front of an audience.
“It does change the way that you structure stories a little bit,” he said. “But as we got into it, we realized it also didn’t have to be a super jokey multi-cam. We had a tone that was established on ‘Sheldon,’ and when we got into it, it felt very similar to writing scenes on ‘Sheldon.’ The bigger difference was because it’s a little more like theater, these scenes play out and tend to be like a little bit longer than they might be on ‘Young Sheldon.’”
“Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” follows Georgie, who’s still in his teens when he becomes a father with the older Mandy (Emily Osment). The events come following the end of “Young Sheldon,” which wound down with the passing of George Sr. and Sheldon’s shift to college. Left back in Medford, Texas, Georgie and Mandy have married and move in with her parents (Rachel Bay Jones and Will Sasso) and brother (Dougie Baldwin) to raise their baby. Georgie also gets a job at his father-in-law’s garage, where co-worker Ruben (Jessie Prez) is less than thrilled.
“One of the things that was exciting about the show is that this is such an unusual relationship,” Holland said. “There’s an age gap and they come from two different worlds. They were sort of thrown together almost accidentally. As much as there’s a lot of love there, it’s not going to be an easy road for them.”
And that’s where the opening credits come in. The title sequence features Jordan and Osment doing a tango, choreographed by “Dancing With the Stars” alums Jonathan & Oksana Platero.
The idea came from fellow exec producer Steve Molaro. “It was unusual. You don’t expect it. And it really just sort of encapsulated the show in this really fun, interesting way,” Holland said. “And so, we brought in these choreographers who had done ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and they were used to working with non-dancers. I think they only had about four days of rehearsal to get that dance down. And they just were fantastic.
““It just felt like that was right, because there’s a lot of passion there, and there’s also, a push/pull and an energy,” he added. “That’s going to be true their relationship. I mean, no relationship is easy, and theirs comes with a lot more baggage piled on it that’s going to make it difficult. These characters clearly have a lot of love for each other, but there’s a lot of things for them to navigate. That shouldn’t be easy, which is good, because that gives us stories.” (And fans of the “Big Bang” universe know that this relationship does eventually end — hence the title “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.”)
It’s a new show, but that’s not to say fans of “Young Sheldon” won’t immediately feel at home. Not only is the character of “Sheldon” frequently mentioned, but it doesn’t take long for Georgie’s mom Mary (Zoe Perry) and his meemaw (Annie Potts) to show up in the first episode.
“We’re trying to walk that line to honor those things, especially for fans of the show, but not do anything that’s going to close the door on new viewers,” Holland said. “But for us, I think the most important thing is to establish the show as its own show, and to really give these new characters room to breathe. But we’re in the incredible lucky position of having a roster of A-list talent who we can pull in. We’ve got Zoe Perry, and we’ve got Annie Potts just waiting in the wings. It’s been really exciting to get to do that. And that also provides continuity. They’re still in this world. These people are still a part of Georgie’s family. It’s about finding ways to use those characters that feel like they’re servicing this show.”
