Annie Potts has built a decades-long career on the TV screen, but even she was shocked when Young Sheldon was canceled after seven seasons.
Potts, 71, who appeared in 134 of the series’ 136 total episodes, told Variety she was “completely unprepared” for the show to end, given its success.
“I was shocked. I mean, the No. 1 show on network TV, No. 1 on Netflix,” she said. “We’re, I think, all that people watch on TikTok besides a couple of recipes for pasta. It just seemed like such a stupid business move.”
Potts added that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t see the end coming.
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“Forgive me, but I don’t know. If a show is starting to drag or lag or have a lack of stories or whatever, then you kind of see it coming. We were totally ambushed by this,” she claimed.
Young Sheldon, the prequel spinoff to The Big Bang Theory, premiered in 2017 and wrapped production last week. It stars Iain Armitage as the childhood version of The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper, an intellectual genius with an endearing lack of social understanding. Potts plays Cooper’s maternal grandmother in the prequel series.
After CBS announced in November 2023 that the series would not be renewed, executive producers Steve Holland, Steven Molaro and Chuck Lorre released a joint statement, saying, “Being able to tell the origin of Sheldon Cooper, and expanding the story to include the entire Cooper family has been a wonderful experience. We are grateful to our fans for embracing this chapter of the Coopers these past six seasons, and on behalf of the entire Young Sheldon family, we’re excited to share this final season with you.”
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With the series soon to be in the rearview mirror, Potts looked back at a show that has played a significant role in her career.
“I mean, it’s been half of Iain’s life, and it’s been a 10th of mine, but at 70, that feels significant,” she said. “And, you know, it’s a little village that we have, and we’ve all taken care of each other and raised each other up. There will be a grievous hole in my life. There’s no question about it. It’ll get easier. Grief does, loss does.”
Armitage, 15, echoed that sentiment, saying, “It’s also just hard in a really weird way that I can only really see if I step back and try and take a global view, which is hard. I mean, I’m not going to get to see Annie Potts every day. This is a real loss for me. More than anyone.”
Young Sheldon’s series finale airs on CBS Thursday, May 16.
