The wildly successful Big Bang Theory spinoff series Young Sheldon has followed the genius for six seasons, and here's what we know about season 7.
The extremely popular Big Bang Theory spinoff Young Sheldon has enjoyed a successful six-season run so far, and the upcoming Young Sheldon season 7 could be the most eventful yet — especially if events from Sheldon's childhood mentioned in TBBT finally happen in the prequel. Debuting in 2017, all six season of Young Sheldon so far have followed Sheldon Cooper as he grows up in his small hometown in Texas in the late-'80s and early-'90s and struggles to fit in with his family and friends. Like The Big Bang Theory before it, much of the humor of Young Sheldon is derived from Sheldon's interactions with the outside world, and the spinoff series gets to the heart of what makes the beloved character tick.
Throughout its run, Young Sheldon has enjoyed relatively positive responses from critics, and the show continues the overwhelming popularity of its parent series The Big Bang Theory. The biggest strength of the series is its storytelling and the family dynamic within the Cooper household, and the cast of Young Sheldon does justice to their Big Bang Theory counterparts. As far as prequel stories go, Young Sheldon not only serves to explore where the titular character came from, but it recontextualizes the original series to make it an even more enjoyable experience upon subsequent watches. This may only increase based on what happens in Young Sheldon season 7, as the show is now building to pivotal moments in Sheldon's life, especially when it comes to his dad.
The latest news for Young Sheldon season 7 isn't unexpected, but is nonetheless disappointing. Young Sheldon network CBS announced their Fall 2023 schedule in August, and Young Sheldon wasn't present on the roster. This means that Young Sheldon has been delayed due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. While it had long been suspected that Young Sheldon wouldn't arrive in the latter half of 2023 as predicted, it hadn't been officially confirmed by CBS until the Instagram post announcing their lineup of Fall premiere dates.
There's not been any confirmation of when the Young Sheldon season 7 release date will be. The next season of Young Sheldon could arrive in early 2024. However, without any confirmation from the Young Sheldon season 7 showrunners, cast, or crew, or CBS themselves, any prediction of the release window is purely speculative. Young Sheldon season 7 has been confirmed, and was already a long ways into production when the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes started in May and July respectively. Young Sheldon season 7 hasn't been canceled, but without any word from CBS or the production team to say otherwise, production has halted and it is delayed pretty much indefinitely until the strikes are resolved.
The Young Sheldon season 7 release date has been officially delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, which are impacting countless television and movie productions. With the WGA strike beginning on May 2, 2023, the Young Sheldon season 7 production was almost immediately affected with Young Sheldon cast members voicing their support for the striking writers. At the time network CBS insisted they had enough episodes filmed and scripts completed to set Young Sheldon season 7 as part of the Fall schedule. However, as the strike went on and the Young Sheldon cast has joined the SAG-AFTRA strike, the Young Sheldon season 7 release date was delayed.
There are further ramifications for the next season of Young Sheldon beyond the delayed release date too. It is possible that Young Sheldon season 7 will be a shortened season if CBS want to get it aired sooner rather than later in 2024 if/when production resumes. If that is the case, it is unclear how that will affect any plans to have season 7 be the final season of the series. Young Sheldon season 6 set up a lot of different storylines to tackle in the next season, including the conflict between Sheldon and Missy. With fewer episodes in season 7, it is likely the show will have a rushed and unsatisfying feel to resolving many of these storylines, possibly making for a lackluster and unceremonious end for the show.