This Young Sheldon episode just rewrote a key detail from Sheldon’s Big Bang Theory backstory

Young Sheldon has changed a familiar part of The Big Bang Theory story in its last season. Fans who've watched the original show for years will recall Sheldon Cooper's odd custom of knocking three times on a door before he enters.

In The Big Bang Theory's tenth season, the episode "The Hot Tub Contamination" shows Sheldon telling Penny why he does this. He says it's because of something upsetting that happened when he was young—he saw his dad in bed with another woman when he was 13.

Sheldon explains that the first two knocks are normal, but the third gives people inside a chance "to get their pants on." Young Sheldon tells a different story though. A recent episode shows Sheldon didn't walk in on his dad cheating. Instead, he saw his parents acting out a scene, with his mom wearing a blonde wig. This playful spin changes the mood of the original tale making the event more funny than sad. This change got fans talking, but Steve Holland, the show's executive producer, spoke up about keeping the two series in line with each other.

Steve Holland explains the importance of staying true to Sheldon’s story

Speaking to TVLine, Holland emphasized that while not every joke from The Big Bang Theory needs to be strictly followed, the show remains committed to the broader narrative arc of Sheldon’s life.

Holland also confirmed that George Sr.'s death, a pivotal moment in Sheldon’s backstory, will be addressed in the final season. Despite fans hoping for a different outcome, Holland reaffirmed that this tragic event is essential to Sheldon’s character development and aligns with the established universe of The Big Bang Theory.

Holland said,

"I don’t want to say what you will or won’t see, but things will get addressed.”

"We are not beholden to every joke that was ever made on The Big Bang Theory, but we do feel beholden to the larger canon and the larger events that shape Sheldon’s life. We want to honour those."

He said,

"That is a thing that happens in Sheldon’s life. This is the same character [from Big Bang.”

"We are living in the same universe as Big Bang and that sort of world-building is important. Big things that [adult Sheldon said] happened in his life without a doubt happened."

Young Sheldon is an American TV comedy show created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro. It aired on CBS from September 25, 2017, to May 16, 2024. The show is a spin-off and prequel to The Big Bang Theory. It is set in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s and tells the story of young Sheldon Cooper, a child genius, as he grows up with his family in East Texas. Ultimately, Young Sheldon aims to balance creative storytelling with the foundational events that define Sheldon Cooper.

Gomala Devi is a journalist at Primetimer. 

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