'Georgie and Mandy's First Wedding' Review: CBS Spin-Off 'Young Sheldon'

For the title, rather than for the premise or the actual content, Young Sheldon was an easy series to make fun of, particularly among the subset of punchline writers who didn't watch any of its 141 episodes. The jokes were based on ignoring that the Big Bang Theory the prequel was actually pretty good, a single-camera comedy generally more tonally aligned with something like this The Wonder Years compared to its wider multi-cam predecessor.

CBS' Georgie and Mandy's first marriagethe spin-off of Big Bang Theory prequel, starts with a tone joke. The first scene of the pilot shows Georgie (Montana Jordan) sitting with her in-laws Jim (Will Sasso) and Audrey (Rachel Bay Jones), who watch Frasier.

“FrasierIt's a laugh-out-loud sight. I like shows that make you laugh,” says Georgie. When asked to elaborate, he explains: “In some shows you can hear people laughing, in others you can't.”

The generally disapproving mother-in-law replies, “Well, I prefer to laugh when I want.”

Think of this comedy as a split-the-difference hybrid The Big Bang Theory (a laugh show) e Young Sheldon (not a laughing matter). It features some scenes accompanied by a highly enthusiastic studio audience and others – the more overtly emotional ones – shot without forced laughter. In this respect, the Chuck Lorre-produced project that it most closely resembles probably is Moman often great sitcom that featured a great guest appearance by First marriage star Emily Osment, rather than one of the earlier Sheldonian hits.

Unfortunately, while Mom came with an immediate hook (addiction recovery and generational relationships between damaged women) – as they both did The Big Bang Theory (nerds are uncomfortable around sexy women) e Young Sheldon (young nerds felt uncomfortable in Texas in the 90s) — First marriage hasn't quite solidified a clear purpose through the initial two episodes sent to critics. It has a good cast and, with Lorre, Steven Molaro and Steve Holland as creators, an interesting expertise with the format. But it feels like exactly what it is: a series floating on the periphery of two signature hits, yet to figure out what will make it distinctive on its own.

The plot, which does not require specific knowledge of the previous series and yet would seem even more ephemeral without such knowledge, focuses on Georgie and Mandy (Osment), new parents living with her parents in a medium-sized Texas town in. ..actually, I have no clue what year it is in this universe anymore.

Georgie, a dim bulb with a big heart, works for Jim, who owns a tire shop or something. Mandy, slightly older and slightly smarter than Georgie, dreams of becoming a television reporter, but can't find work. Jim is generally easy to get along with, while Audrey thinks Georgie ruined her daughter's life, but she's just a generic pill. The newest member of their family is Connor (Dougie Baldwin), Mandy's music-loving brother who has a vaguely similar affection for Sheldon.

It's a comparison that Sheldon's older brother, Georgie, makes several times in the first two episodes, which feature many references and cameos from characters from Young Sheldon universe. There are appearances by Zoe Perry's Mary, Annie Potts' Meemaw and Raegan Revord's Missy, as well as a scene in which Georgie freaks out in indignation at the possibility of leaving fictional Medford – as if to offer reassurance that every time First marriage loses its moorings, an allusion to Young Sheldon it won't be far away.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since viewers are already attached to those characters. Perry and Potts are very funny, while Revord delivers some really excellent dramatic pacing in the second episode. But that's not always a good thing either. Even if you don't have to have seen it Young Sheldon OR The Big Bang Theory to make sense First marriageyou absolutely have to have seen one or the other to fully understand why CBS would be thrilled with a show so harmlessly light on character and drama.

The connections to the previous texts are at once irrelevant to the plot and at the same time evidently load-bearing. They fill space that could be used instead to develop these new relationships and this new situation that are ultimately what the series will need to succeed, unless we assume that every single episode will contain a: “Hey, remember the things that happened on that other show! guest appearance But CBS didn't send out episodes that tried to stay isolated.

Take away the connection to the characters played by Perry and Potts, take away the emotional resonance of multiple scenes set at the grave of Lance Barber's late George Senior, and you're left with – what, exactly?

Jordan and Osment have cute chemistry, but it's bizarre how much more is shown in the opening credits sequence, with Georgie and Mandy dancing a sexy tango in a domestic mess living room, than in the series itself. This title is established previously Big Bang Theory lore has made it clear that this marriage is doomed offers a looming sense of melancholy that the narrative isn't yet ready to grapple with – although, in my opinion, that's something it should set up First marriage apart.

Incidentally, I felt the same way about the first few chapters of Young Sheldon and the looming prospect of George Senior's death, which Big Bang Theory fans knew it was on the horizon, and Young Sheldon I actually ended up dealing with it pretty well. So it's not that I would rule out successful tonal navigation, just that I can't review a new series on faith.

The immediately repetitive familiarity of the Jim/Audrey dynamic is more of a hindrance than anything else. I'm sure the comedy will eventually find more Dear Evan Hansen Tony winner Jones does nothing but play a character who is forced to continually apologize for being wrong about Georgie and Mandy, even though he may, in fact, be right about whatever ultimately leads to the end of their marriage. As it stands, however, Audrey is mostly an annoying wife.

Jim is mostly Fred Flintstone, which forced me to check to see if Will Sasso had ever played Fred Flintstone in, like, a simple Quibi Flintstones series, which is now something I would absolutely love to watch. Honestly, since Georgie and Mandy are a little grown up Pebbles and Bam-Bam, I think I just wrote a Halloween fantasy plot for this show.

If Connor ever becomes more than another opportunity to tiptoe around depictions of supposed autism and an excuse to reference Sheldon, he could become an interesting character. So far it isn't.

If Ruben (Jessie Prez), Jim's other tire shop employee, became more than just the guy who resents Georgie for usurping him into a job he's not qualified for, he could make an interesting character . So far it isn't.

One thing Chuck Lorre rarely gets enough credit for — even though, in the immortal words of Don Draper, that's what the money is for — is intelligently adapting his shows on the fly. The Big Bang Theory he was awful for much of his first season and then, especially mid-season, became a prime example of form. Young Sheldon AND Mom both evolved into the best-case scenario hinted at in their pilots.

So maybe it's there Georgie and Mandy's first marriage will it go? The first two episodes are flat and lack particularity, but they have a grounded warmth and humor that could eventually be turned into something good.