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Jim Parsons is back as Sheldon Cooper. CBS has revealed a first look at Parsons’ and his former co-star Mayim Bialik reprising their roles from The Big Bang Theory in the upcoming Young Sheldon series finale

Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik will appear in the last episode of ‘Young Sheldon’ 

Mayim Bialik holding a coffee mug looking over Jim Parsons' shoulder at his laptop screen in the 'Young Sheldon' series finale
(L-R): Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler and Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in the ‘Young Sheldon’ series finale | Bill Inoshita / 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Parsons and Bialik will appear as Sheldon and Amy Farrah Fowler in the two-part Young Sheldon series finale, which airs May 16. Plot details for the finale haven’t yet been released, but CBS has shared photos of the two actors in character. The images show Sheldon sitting at a desk looking at a laptop while his wife Amy looks on while holding a coffee mug. 

The episode will be the first time Parsons and Bialik have appeared together on screen since The Big Bang Theory series finale in May 2019. In that episode, the scientist couple was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. 

Parsons serves as the narrator for Young Sheldon, which is a prequel to The Big Bang Theory. (Bialik also has a voiceover role in one episode.) The show focuses on Sheldon’s childhood in Texas with his family, including his dad George (Lance Barber), mom Mary (Zoe Perry), twin sister Missy (Raegen Revord), older brother George Jr. (Montana Jordan), and his grandmother “Meemaw” (Annie Potts). Emily Osment plays George Jr.’s wife Mandy. Jordan and Osment will reprise their Young Sheldon roles in the upcoming spinoff, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. It premieres in the fall of 2024 on CBS. 

Jim Parsons says it was ‘very weird’ but ‘very beautiful’ to play Sheldon again 

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper looking at his laptop screen in the 'Young Sheldon' series finale
Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in the ‘Young Sheldon’ series finale | Bill Inoshita / 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Five years have passed since Parsons last stepped in front of a camera to play Sheldon. During a March 2024 appearance on Today (via YouTube), he said the experience of revisiting the character was “very weird” but also “very beautiful.”

One thing that made it a little less strange to play Sheldon again? Young Sheldon is a single-camera sitcom. In contrast, The Big Bang Theory was shot in front of a live studio audience. As an actor, that shift was important, he said. 

“To do it in that situation, it was just different enough that it wasn’t creepy … it was really sweet,” he said. “It felt like the nicest little coda to the whole experience and I was very grateful that they asked us to do it.”

The Young Sheldon series finale airs Thursday, May 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. It streams live for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers and on-demand the next day for Paramount+ Essential subscribers. 

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