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SPOILER ALERT! This story contains details from the premiere of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage on CBS.
The Young Sheldon spinoff finally made its much-anticipated debut Oct. 17 and naturally, we have questions about how Georgie (Montana Johnson) and Mandy (Emily Osment) are beginning their new lives in Texas.
Here, Co-Creator Steve Holland breaks down the episode titled “The 6:10 to Lubbock” and, among other things, explains why he and the other EPs decided to have the stars perform a little ballroom in the title sequence.
DEADLINE What was important for you to establish in this episode?
STEVE HOLLAND It was important for us to re-establish the premise of the show and the situation by which Georgie and Mandy got together, and their living situation. It was a chance to spend time with these characters and hopefully remember why we love them.
DEADLINE So basically, did this pick up days after the Young Sheldon finale?
HOLLAND I would say probably a month or two after the finale. Obviously, George’s death is still lingers, but we didn’t want it to pick up right in the heavy aftermath of their grief.
DEADLINE Why the tango in the title sequence?
HOLLAND We wanted something that would be interesting and unique to the show. These days a lot of shows don’t even do title sequences, but we felt, especially in the Big Bang world, the title sequences have always been such a identifiable piece. When we were talking about the themes of the show, Steven Molaro, my co-creator, pitched the idea of the tango and it seemed surprising in a great way. It also seemed to really encapsulate the push-pull of this relationship. This relationship has a lot of love and passion, but they also have a lot of struggles and fights and the tango just seemed to really sum all that up. It’s also the last thing you expect to see when you’re watching this sitcom.
DEADLINE How long did you know that you wanted to somehow address the concept of a live audience?
HOLLAND That was pretty early on when we were breaking the story. I’m not sure if it’s ever happened before where a show has gone from single camera to a multi-camera spinoff. We knew there was going to be a moment where it was going to feel a little different to viewers. So we thought, why not just own it? Why pretend that we don’t know that this is a different thing and how it’s a slightly different format? Maybe there’s some fun in just coming out of the gate and saying, we know that this is a different kind of show and we’re excited about it.
DEADLINE Why did you have them watching Frasier?
HOLLAND For two reasons. It felt very identifiable for audiences. We felt like they would recognize it and get exactly what that is. It’s also a beloved multi-cam show, and that was important to us. It also sets the time on the show. It starts off in 1994. You immediately realize this is a bit of a period piece.
DEADLINE As a reminder, how old are Georgie and Mandy now?
HOLLAND Georgie is 19 and Mandy is 31.
DEADLINE Seeing Mary and Meemaw was so cool. Is this a promise of what’s to come?
HOLLAND Yeah. I mean we knew even when we were first talking about this show that it still took place in Medford and this was still his family. We love these actors and wanted to find ways to include them. So it always felt like they were going to be a part of the show. We’re in this lucky position on a first season show. We have this A-list roster of superstars waiting on the bench to come in when we need them. And incredibly fun to put them in front of an audience.
DEADLINE There wasn’t the obligatory “awwww” when Georgie got a hug from Will Sasso’s Jim McAllister. Did you edit out the studio audience during that moment?
HOLLAND We’re trying to be conscious of tone. Sometimes audiences come to these shows and they’re very amped up so sometimes those big laughs at home can seem jarring. We’re trying to tamper them down. But especially things like the awwws… they have never been a thing that we love. It feels like sometimes the audiences are doing it because they think they’re supposed to. They take you out of what is a very sweet moment. We didn’t edit them out, but we did do another pass and asked the audience not [to make a sound].
DEADLINE How did you shake the set?
HOLLAND It was incredible. They actually built it on these hydraulic gimbals. There were different degrees of shaking that they could turn up and down. Then it was finding the right level because sometimes the walls and the furniture didn’t always shake. It was amazing because [Jordan and Osment] really enjoyed having Zoe Perry and Annie Potts back, and Montana had never done multi-cam before this. So this was his first foray into that and he was just great. He came so prepared and so ready to do it. I don’t think he dropped a line in the whole pilot shoot.
DEADLINE At one point we hear Georgie say that “genius runs in my family.” Are you possibly teasing that their baby is going to be a prodigy?
HOLLAND That was more of a nod to Sheldon than teasing the future of the baby. Hopefully we’re on the air long enough to find out what happens to this baby in 10 years.
