George & Mandy’s First Wedding — the title of the Young Sheldon spinoff at CBS — may indicate a certain level of pessimism about the story, but that’s precisely the aim of the new multi-camera sitcom launching in October, executive producer Chuck Lorre explains.
“Georgie is 19. He dropped out of high school. How smoothly is his marriage going to go?” Lorre told reporters Saturday at the Television Critics Tour. “Yes, there is pessimism at first, but there is also hope, if you are patient with us.”
The series from executive producers Lorre, Steve Holland and Steven Molaro and Warner Bros. Television will focus on the characters of Georgie Cooper and his fiancée Mandy McAllister, played on Young Sheldon by Montana Jordan and Emily Osment, respectively. Unlike Young SheldonThe comedy will be broadcast with multiple cameras, which, as one might expect, raised questions from reporters about the format’s viability.
“We’ve been doing this long enough and heard multiple times that multi-camera sitcoms are dead,” Holland said. “Before The Big Bang Theory, people loved to make those kinds of predictions, but all it takes is something that the audience can relate to and it’s not true anymore.”
“I try to do things that I’m passionate about, that are awesome, that I’m working with people that I love and admire, to tell great stories that have the potential to make people laugh,” Lorre added. “What a great thing to do. Did you make people laugh? That’s not a bad day. What the industry considers viable is really none of my business. I try to focus on doing things that I love.”
Lorre kicked off the panel for George and Mandy by reminding reporters that 17 years ago they weren’t exactly thrilled about The Big Bang Theory“A show about physicists, really?”
“All is forgiven,” Lorre joked. “I’m doing it again. I’m really excited.”
The comedy, which is being filmed on the same Warner Bros. soundstage as The Big Bang Theory, will be taping its first episode next week in Burbank. And Lorre will continue to produce his irreverent vanity cards at the end of each episode.