In the canon of successful TV spin-offs, we now have to always mention Young Sheldon. It's happening in the same universe of "The Big Bang Theory", the sitcom focused on a young Sheldon Cooper growing up in Texas long before he became the man audiences know, as portrayed by Jim Parsons. When it came time to breathe new life into his character through a younger lens, Parsons was directly involved not only as the show's narrator, but also as an executive producer. But while he is relatively confident as an actor, Parsons lacked the same confidence as a producer.

In a 2017 interview with CBS NewsParsons sat down with Young Sheldon star Ian Armitage to discuss the show as well as their relationship. Parsons mentored Armitage a lot to help him become the young Sheldon Cooper. But when asked specifically about being an executive producer, Parsons wasn't shy about his feelings.

"I'm very mediocre at that," replied Parsons, though Armitage was quick to chime in and disagree, saying, "It's not true." Speaking a little further. Parsons elaborated on his new position and explained why it was a challenge for him. What it came down to is that he didn't want to tell another actor how to do his job:

"It's very strange and takes a lot of getting used to, even talking to another actor, in this case, Ian. I've never been comfortable giving direction to another actor. necessarily, and I don't want to break it, or him!'

"I'm not that fragile." I'm fragile, but not that fragile," commented Armitage. Parsons then agreed, replying, "No, you're not actually."

For what it's worth, it all worked regardless of Parsons' feelings about himself as a producer. Young Sheldon ran for seven seasons on CBS before ending its run in May 2024. That's a whopping 141 episodes, for those keeping track. It's not as many as the 12 seasons and 279 episodes of Big Bang Theory, but to say that the spin-off has something shy of a resoundingly successful series would be unfair.

Parsons largely allowed Armitage to put his own stamp on Sheldon Cooper, even from the start. Yes, we know the old Sheldon, who Armitage referred to as "big Sheldon" in the interview, but this was a very different version of the character. Parsons talked a little about it, explaining that seeing a younger Sheldon discover everything he wants will keep the show going:

"It's really his character." What you're seeing is how he became what we see in the adult show, and so this is his own creature that he (Ian) is portraying here. There are overlaps, but we see him discovering things, like the comics, and his clothes will change style as he goes through this, all the things that you associate with Sheldon now, you see how they got there through him.

Although he only served as narrator for the vast majority of the show, Parsons did appear as Sheldon Cooper in the series finale of Young Sheldon.. He helped finish what he started, and Armitage can now build a career after a highly successful seven-year run on the hit show. Everyone won. So it may be difficult, with the benefit of hindsight, to agree that Parsons is a bad producer.

"Young Sheldon" is now airing on Max, or you can grab your favorite season on Blu-ray/DVD via Amazon.