- 7 hours ago
The cast and creatives of CBS' hit comedy series 'Young Sheldon' joined The Hollywood Reporter's Tyler Coates for a conversation about the seventh and final season at a live event hosted by the San Vicente Bungalows in Los Angeles. Stars Zoe Perry, Lance Barber and Annie Potts appeared with executive producers and co-creators Chuck Lorre and Steve Molaro and executive producer Steve Holland.
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00:00I feel like we knew from the pilot we all met and we were like outside in a courtyard and the kids
00:08upon meeting just you know launched and they were running in circles and we I think we all kind of
00:17just the adults probably just looked around we're like okay well you know it seems like an instant
00:24family thank you all for joining us thank you all for joining us and congratulations on this final
00:36season and what a run seven seasons you know I naturally we're going to talk about these last
00:42two episodes but I wanted to kind of take it back from the beginning and talk to to Chuck and Steve
00:47and Steve about you know developing this project and you know obviously you're taking a show that's
00:53a spinoff of a previous show what were things that you really wanted to make sure young Sheldon
01:00stood out as its own entity beyond just the Big Bang Theory and how did you manage to do that across
01:06these seven seasons well we knew we were starting with an exceptional child but a big part of the work
01:13was how he impacts on his family and and so it very quickly became an ensemble a family show about how
01:23this little boy changes the family and the family impacts on him so it it got a lot richer and
01:31warmer as a result of not making it about so much Sheldon as about his entire environment including all the
01:39people in it and and this extraordinary group of adults Steve and Steve you know I I hope I got those
01:49right Steve and Steve right um I'm curious like building an ensemble around a family like this like
01:54what are you know what are the exciting parts about it and also the challenges especially you know when
01:59your star is is one of the kids how do you build these adults well the kids were young so they had
02:05limits on their hours but we could work these guys forever so you know that let us really build out some
02:10other stories yeah well I remember how uh electric the night was when we were trying to figure out who
02:17could possibly play Sheldon's mom and we realized that uh we had the actual daughter of the first Sheldon's
02:25mom and uh my email was blowing up but I didn't know what it was it was because she was like could
02:31you imagine if Zoe Perry would do it is she the right age and they were like this could be amazing
02:36this is like in the stars this is cosmic and uh clearly it was so that was I remember that was a
02:40big night for us I was the lucky one there Zoe you know I would love to hear you talk about taking on
02:47this complex role this mother who is kind of running a family you know is is parenting a gifted
02:54child there's so much happening with her all the time did you experience that like kind of going into
03:00like playing a mother role someone who's like kind of spread thin and recognizing like as the actress
03:05like which parts are more important to her how to prioritize those elements of her character
03:11well I mean everything always went back to the scripts I felt like I was so taken care of in in what
03:22my motivation was and and what the challenges were in any particular interaction be it with the kids or
03:29husband or mom and um and I feel like uh you know that friction between Mary and Sheldon
03:41of these sort of opposing forces but then who are also like drawn together you know the the differing
03:48ideologies but the deep rooted love and and respect for each other was just always so you know rich um
03:57and I feel like elements of that played into all of our relationships um because that's life and I feel
04:06like that's also I mean what was so well written always was I think and what people always related
04:15to you know when I would hear from viewers was just how personal it felt to them but that message was
04:24universal because I would I would hear it abroad I would hear it everywhere I'd hear it from different
04:30cultures so clearly you know the just family dynamic is what really I think spoke to everybody
04:37uh Lance playing a dad in this in this unit did you kind of feel the same way that
04:42it was kind of built on set this family not at all
04:48it was you know in the most cliched ways it was um intrinsic you know uh it's hard to be spend that
05:01much time with people and with little people those young people make it happen make it so I mean you
05:07can't there's there's a natural dynamic and and you know some of us are parents already and it just
05:13fell into a um a natural thing that I think was certainly carried over onto the screen it was just
05:20there it was uh clear and obvious uh just by all the time spent together and with uh again at the risk
05:27of being cliche it was everybody liked each other so uh the time together spent especially uh when we
05:34started was pretty magical so Annie you know you're playing me ma the matriarch of this family in a
05:40way kind of someone who's revered that level within a family is that were there surprising
05:46responsibilities playing this character on screen for you well I I felt like I mean really in in life
05:52we had more responsibilities on the set because I mean the they were little kids uh and only 15 when
06:02we finished so you we know we had to be delicate around them and you know sometimes they were not
06:10real well behaved it'd be like this little dick I'm gonna kill him um it's like he's working like a
06:18grown-up okay back off um but you know we had to love them and we had to you know feel that you know
06:27we were their little village and we needed to protect them no matter what uh so I felt the
06:34the responsibilities the human responsibilities in a human situation were more uh were harder
06:42the acting I mean I was just playing my mother so no problem
06:48um um you know I want to get to obviously the the end of this series and and what happens with George
06:57and the family and you know I kind of want to toss it to the group and and really understand you know
07:02how you know when you knew that this was going to happen in the show um how like what those early
07:09conversations were of tackling such heavy material in you know a light-hearted network sitcom
07:16um not that that's not been you know that's it's a well-worn territory where a genre where that kind
07:23of um storylines can be told but I'm curious like right now like what were those challenges I mean I
07:28think we knew like we knew this event was coming I think Lance knew probably from the beginning we
07:33knew from Big Bang Theory that his dad died and we knew that it was an important part of Sheldon and
07:37adult Sheldon's life and even you know Mary and Meemaw how it affected them when they became who they
07:42became on Big Bang so we didn't want to shy away from doing it but it became hard as we
07:46got to it because we had spent seven years with this with this character and with this actor
07:50and getting to you know getting to those moments where we were writing his farewells was really
07:55emotional just even in the writer's room even talking about it there were tears and tissues
07:59um being tossed around so I I love that that uh you know as the when we brought it to a close
08:06that we saw for seven years how this family loved this little boy and it was hard he was a challenge
08:17and and and and he didn't appreciate it until he was a father himself he didn't you know and that was
08:25the most things to be most proud of is about how we landed the plane was uh Jim Parsons playing uh Sheldon
08:33Sheldon as an adult learns rather late that his family didn't get him at all and loved him
08:41unconditionally which I what a wonderful way to say goodbye on this series and I I think Lance can
08:47speak to how from the beginning we would often hear well based on what we knew from Big Bang Theory why
08:53why isn't George as terrible as we thought and and I know you got that question a lot and it's sort of
08:59the beginnings of us finding our way to the thought of Sheldon's uh much older now and has
09:06kids of his own that he doesn't understand and is starting to look at his parents in a in a in a new
09:11light and and telling these stories from his past to to honor them I had to figure out a way initially
09:17certainly to justify what we already knew right and uh and Chuck had such good advice right away of we
09:24have to like this guy and we didn't like this guy I don't think so much on the Big Bang Theory other
09:28than for a laugh you know well Sheldon turned out to be an unreliable narrator he was an unreliable
09:34narrator as I think we all are regarding our parents absolutely that's right and that's the angle I took
09:40when I started was that uh you know we all see our parents as uh as adults at some point hopefully we
09:46see them as humans where in a way that we never did before and at the narrator of the show that's
09:52that's what this was and so that was my guiding light for any of the uh George stuff and Lance
09:59is just so likable it's hard to make him we cast him because we thought he was going to be a jerk
10:05and then he turns out to be wonderful well you know Lance for you especially you know obviously for
10:11everyone this closing chapter must have been very emotional but you know you've played this character
10:15you've been inside his head for seven years what is it like to kind of come to that end for him
10:20for you I'll share a quick anecdote that I shared before but I went to I was in the casket
10:25for the day that we shot I was asked if I wanted to be I think they could have done a dummy in there
10:31right with a face cast or something and I said of course I want to be there because I've got plans
10:37I'm going to ruin a lot of takes I've got a fart machine I'm going to carry in the casket with me
10:41I've got a mustache and funny teeth I'm going to I'm really going to crack people up
10:46and when they shot I all day I was there and I finally had a short time in the casket to shoot the
10:52overs and these actors they walked up in succession to talk to George and had their moments with him
10:59and all of those were out the window I didn't do any of my funny bets I laid there and pulled tears
11:06in my ears the entire time it hit me pretty hard in a way I didn't anticipate actually
11:11and that was on top of being kind of proud and grateful for having a character actor's kind of dream
11:22of uh having a memorable uh television character compared to the end of mash or you know things
11:32like this I mean it hit people and I will have a legacy of that as a as a character actor who got
11:38this job and will have uh that be part of um my history and I'm I'm little more than extremely grateful
11:48for that it was very daunting uh about like two months till the end seeing everything approach
11:58knowing what was coming uh knowing you wouldn't be there and um and being sort of jealous of how you
12:08were going out because I was like I want to climb into that cast and go out too I was scared to do all
12:14the rest there was even one moment when we were shooting uh uh all of these wonderful uh female
12:23characters we had because our ensemble I mean you guys created a world and it was incredible we had
12:28so many wonderful people Melissa Peterman Reba McIntyre uh Rachel Bay Jones uh different people were
12:36coming over with casseroles and the day had turned into a salon like you were hosting it they had pulled
12:41the couch out and everyone's like laughing and at one point I walk by and Reagan is like you're still
12:48here like I'm working um but uh but it was um man it was it was a challenge but but looking back on it
13:01too it was like such a uh a remarkable experience to have like walked through that don't you think
13:09Annie I mean Annie and I would kind of just be bleeding on each other uh I started to wish that
13:16it had been my funeral I uh so I could just lay there and hear all the lovely things that people
13:22thought about me cry over me and everything I started to really dislike Lance because he'd stolen
13:30my thunder I thought I was the oldest character I should have died
13:34can we take a minute to talk about your two eulogies and how just astoundingly amazing they
13:41were just some of the I can't believe how incredible those moments were from from you two
13:48I think I mean we were really proud of the script we wrote but to watch you guys bring it to life and
13:52the the funeral scene you watched we shot over two and a half or three days we were in that church
13:56shooting those scenes and you guys stayed in that emotional place the whole time like when we were on
14:01your back when we were in wide shots like I just remember watching you guys and being actually
14:05exhausted by just being so emotional and in tears and you had to be up there and do it like over and
14:11over again and for you know for two and a half days you guys stayed in that space and gave those
14:15incredible performances again and again and it was really something incredible to watch
14:19and just the way Lance laid there
14:21impressive it was surreal to be grieving in character and then grieving the end of our show
14:31I mean these were it was a lot of grieving it was it was a lot of yeah it was a lot of grief I mean
14:38it was it was real yeah and uh oh I remember there was a scene when you were going up to the casket
14:45to give your farewell and I think on your last performance you really broke down and it was
14:49really affecting and we were sitting back by the monitors and Reagan was sitting next to us
14:53and she's sobbing watching you do it and you finish and she's like actually can I go again I
14:58think I'm sobbing the right amount now can I go one more time and so Reagan went back up to do one more
15:02yeah the the moment of that was you Steve asking uh if there was one because it was it was written
15:09maybe a bit more somber right and then it was like one you know could we have one where maybe she
15:15she breaks down a bit and so I went up again and uh yeah he as he said had just been pummeled by uh
15:23you know family uh speeches and and last words and so uh he started tearing which made it all the
15:34easier for me to break down um yeah well when the corpse is crying
15:40you know you're in trouble
15:43spinoff
15:46sad ghost
15:50there's you know there's something
15:53steve in the middle here you brought up about you know kind of being really proud of the script
15:58that you wrote and then seeing what they did with it really took it above and beyond and I'm
16:02very curious about the relationship between television writers and their ensemble uh because
16:08obviously when you make it you you write a movie you know people sit in there alone at home make a
16:14movie or write a movie script you shoot it I feel like with tv you have this incredible opportunity to
16:21work with great actors and understand what they can bring to their characters and so I'm very curious
16:26if there's anything that you noticed almost immediately with these three about what they were
16:31bringing and that influenced how you were writing the character at all I mean I think it was a lesson
16:37we actually took from Chuck from way back when which is you know you have an idea of what the show is
16:42but you have to be open to let the show grow and take you in surprising directions you can't just force
16:47it into this idea that you initially had and a lot of that's watching these actors and what they bring
16:52to the role like you know Lance being so lovely and such a wonderful person changed who George was and
16:58you know and Annie obviously just being Annie changed who Meemaw was and suddenly Meemaw's not
17:02just this grandmother but she's got this active love life and she's running a gambling casino and
17:06she's a force of nature and you know I'm not saying Annie's running a gambling casino but after this
17:11if you want the code um so no absolutely I think we always try to keep ourselves sort of alive to what
17:17these actors were doing and bringing to the role and start shaping the characters to that
17:21yeah and from the actors I would love to hear that on your side of the of the perspective you
17:26know did you feel a freedom to play around with you know who these characters were wasn't really by
17:32the page and kind of sticklers to it I think there was a lot to honor on the page it was very clear as
17:37you said before what was there was so ready to work with and clear that they knew us it was a neat
17:43experience for me to have worked on something for so long and knew that the writers knew me
17:47I never had and so to have the opportunity to understand and realize oh they're writing
17:53to me they know me they're writing a thing that I do and now they're using that you know to recognize
17:58that that would happen in a couple of different ways was so
18:03cool so flattering and and such a neat experience to touch on something Annie mentioned I'm very curious
18:09if there's anything you learned from your younger co-stars as actors at this point in your career
18:17it cannot be spoken of you can pass but my favorite little story about working with them in
18:28in the beginning I was we were doing a dinner scene which they would go on forever to keep I mean you
18:34know to just go out to a restaurant with children is one thing but to have an eight-hour day with
18:38children at the table anyway so Reagan was next to me and just because she got bored and she had a lot
18:46of energy somewhere during the thing she found my sleeve and put her little fingers up my shirt and she
18:54started to examine the little fleshy part back there and she really worked it I mean she got everything
19:02she could out of that and I thought this child is so free you know it's just I thought I don't know
19:09if I would feel as comfortable with say a grown-up actor just to feel their arm up on camera but
19:17I mentioned it to another actor and they said why didn't you tell her to stop and I said are you
19:22kidding that stuff was gold go on honey
19:29silly Lance how about you did you take anything away from well they were always I mean they were
19:35always so present so it definitely they were always so present yeah but yeah during the scene and during
19:46god um so it definitely made you stay in it with them uh but again I think that really fed into the
19:54family dynamic you know I mean we were playing with kids and then on our toes for sure yeah yeah I needed
20:02some prep time oh yes they would say action and the kids would just go out of us screaming out of
20:10conversation they had an ability it really would be yeah screaming screaming screaming action and
20:15and then you know and then they're in and they drop in and we were like we're too old we need three
20:21seconds I need three seconds and five breaths before I go it was never understood no that we that
20:30our brains didn't function the same way so did you try to impart that wisdom onto them
20:36impossible yeah impossible it wasn't necessary they didn't need it clearly of course every actor is
20:41his own process because they didn't yeah well then Ian started to learn Russian that's true and he
20:49got very good at it very quickly and he knew a lot of songs in Russian all kinds of things and especially
20:55at the dinner table he liked to sing them now I'm no fan of Putin so I really didn't enjoy the Russian
21:06also it was in in in in advanced hours with it and he would
21:16and then it'd be like oh and pass the grits so I said you've got to stop that you got to stop that
21:23with the Russian I said it's scrambling my brain I'm old and I can't take it and uh
21:29then he turned very red and he he's crestfallen I was like oh I don't need this okay you've driven
21:38me crazy with the Russian I could hardly remember my lines don't don't play that game anyway so there
21:45there were challenges to uh to to that and uh then he learned Hungarian um anyway fun he was just fun
21:57kind of one last question for the entire group we can just kind of go down the line starting with
22:05Lance but you know you started this show seven years ago seven seasons ago um obviously it's a prequel to
22:11an extremely popular show so I'm sure the stakes were very high I bet there were part of you that
22:18probably like this is going to be great but I'm sure there's also part of you like this could be scary
22:24and terrible who knows who knows how people are going to respond to this I'm very curious when
22:28did it first dawn on you that the show was the gem that it was Lance do you remember I just remember
22:35people telling me yeah I remember saying that from the business uh like you just hit the jackpot
22:42man get ready really kept saying get ready and then when the show came out that continued to come
22:48from people in the business in the know and then from fans right away it was uh obvious and of course
22:54there was we didn't know of course we didn't know we'd hoped and all the stuff was there but we didn't
23:00know but it was pretty apparent pretty quickly in my recollection oh yeah I mean I I feel like we knew
23:07from the pilot I mean it it was such an exciting thing to be a part of and knowing uh yeah the world
23:18that we were you know attached to the incredible fan base of that and just what a privilege that was
23:25to be connected to it and then when we started the pilot I mean I I truly felt such a you know like
23:34connection to this guy just when we auditioned together and then um from the moment uh god I
23:44was I was thinking about this when we were doing some like behind the scenes footage and I ugly cried
23:50like out of nowhere um because they said do you remember you know meeting the kids for the first time
23:56and I did and the memory was so vivid that it just took me aback but uh we all met and it
24:05we were like outside in a courtyard and the kids upon meeting just you know launched and they were
24:13running in circles and Montana who was always so calm was kind of letting them crawl on him you know all
24:21over and um and we I think we all kind of just the adults probably just looked around we were like
24:28okay well you know it seems like an instant family and uh yeah I think it it just from the get it was
24:38like wow how lucky yeah Annie how about you do you remember do you remember a moment where you're like
24:43this is great I yes I do I thought I'm working with ferrets wow they're just three little ferrets
24:56they are I love kids I have three of my own you know I I I love them so I knew when I saw the pilot
25:06of it and I wasn't even in that uh they sent it to me said you want to be part of this and was like
25:12yes I do but uh yeah it was a delight the whole time how about you guys I mean as far as when I don't
25:22know when we knew but I'm I'm comfortable to say that Chuck and I were terrified from the beginning
25:29all through the whole pilot maybe even after we saw the pilot just is this is this going to be okay
25:34what what are we doing and we had never done single camera show before so uh it was a it was a it was a
25:41wild time the only word that comes to mind is fear just yeah just absolutely trusting that you know
25:51we were making good choices but uh no we didn't know we we were we were learning as we went yeah you
25:57know I have to just as you're talking about the ferrets I just remember early on you know
26:04you walk on and walk on set and and and Reagan and he would come running and climb all over you
26:10Mr. Chuck Mr. Chuck Mr. Chuck you know this last year I walk on the set and Reagan would go
26:23and that's appropriate right that's that's 15 not eight yeah it was wonderful to it was it was
26:32challenging but it was wonderful to watch these kids grow up you know and we and I and I'm really
26:36proud we did create a safe space it doesn't necessarily have to be a safe space it's not
26:42a natural space for little kids it's a work environment a lot of stress and pressure and
26:49enormous amounts of money are being wagered as to either this is going to work or not
26:52and I I I like to believe that that these these kids you know were protected the entire time
27:02well thank you all again for joining us tonight and congratulations on this show
27:07and seven incredible seasons thank you so much thank you thank you so much
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