Sheldon didn’t return for Georgie & Mandy’s Thanksgiving episode for one obvious reason

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage had Thanksgiving a week early… but somebody was missing. According to creators, the reason why makes total “Sheldon-sense.”

Given we’re picking things up only a few months after George’s death, it’s not surprising that the Coopers are struggling. That’s all come to a head in this week’s Thanksgiving episode, following Georgie trying to unite the family with the help of the McAllisters.

There’s one person missing from these touching moments, though – Sheldon. During the Young Sheldon Season 7 finale, we saw him finally head off to Caltech, which where we first meet him in The Big Bang Theory.

We don’t know how many times he went back to Medford in between, but the first Thanksgiving without George wasn’t one of them. Harsh? Perhaps not.

“Initially, when we were talking about the episode, it was certainly part of the discussion — like, ‘Should Sheldon be a part of this?’ There are certain occasions where you could bring him back, but as we were breaking the [episode], it just felt like it was actually going to hurt this story,” co-creator Steve Holland told TV Line.

CBS

“Often, when a matriarch or a patriarch passes away, the family can splinter, and that’s what is happening here. And as fun as it would have been to see him, it felt like there is no world where that family doesn’t get together, and Mary doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, if Sheldon is coming back from California. So, it seemed to make “Sheldon sense” that he didn’t come back, and it made sense for the story we were trying to tell.”

Even though Episode 5 wasn’t the moment, this doesn’t mean we won’t see Sheldon at all in the new TV show.

As Holland states, the team is clearly identifying moments where he “could” make an appearance – and now Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage has been commissioned for a full 22 episodes, they’ve got lots of opportunities.

However, actor Iain Armitage doesn’t think Sheldon needs to be seen again. He previously told ET “They don’t even need me stepping in and intruding. I can’t wait to see what they do. But I would love to step in for an episode.”

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is airing weekly on CBS. Catch up with our Episode 2, Episode 3, and Episode 4 recaps before you watch the latest episode.