Young Sheldon‘s seventh and final season on CBS is moving right along and, as that happens, it seems the show is aiming to tie up loose ends. With that in mind, the Big Bang Theory spinoff still has to acknowledge certain events established within its parent show before the finale. Though not all are quite as dramatic as George Sr.’s death. The show will have another opportunity to do so, since it’s bringing back a former cast member. As it turns out, actor Ryan Phuong is set to return as Tam, and said development will likely establish something viewers learned from Big Bang.
Sheldon’s older best friend, Tam, was featured on and off throughout the first four seasons of Young Sheldon and will officially return in the final season, according to TVLine. This is significant because Tam was the first original character from the spinoff to appear in The Big Bang Theory. He popped up during a Season 12 episode titled “The Tam Turbulence.” During the installment, Sheldon reunited with his old pal, who he now considered to be one of his enemies. Now, the prequel has a chance to actually depict what led caused them to drift apart.
As viewers learned on The Big Bang Theory episode, which currently available to stream with a Max subscription, Tam and Sheldon were originally planning to be roommates when he went off grad school at Cal Tech. Tam broke that promise, however, after getting into a committed relationship, leaving Sheldon to go off to school alone and friendless. As the episode revealed, the incident made it hard for Sheldon to make friends. Showrunner Steve Holland was asked if that would be referenced and said the following:
“I think there will be a nod to that.”
Recent episodes may have shown each of the Cooper children maturing into their future selves, but this reveal could serve as a moment of sourness for Sheldon. While the boy genius might be mentally mature enough to leave for CalTech at fourteen (which is why Young Sheldon is ending), he’s not as emotionally mature as Tam, who will be 22 when he reappears. But, given what we know about Sheldon, it’s unsurprising that he wouldn’t understand Tam’s decision to stay in Texas for school or forgive him for it.
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So far during this farewell season, the Cooper family have been getting back on their feet following the big tornado that hit Medford. Grandmother Connie ended up losing her home and as a result, has made some risky decisions with her underground gambling business in order to generate more revenue so she can rebuild.
It’s speculated this will encourage Georgie to exit their partnership and try his hand at starting a business, though Steven Molaro noted long ago he’s not against switching up character stories regardless of what happened on The Big Bang Theory. With that in mind, don’t be surprised if Tam’s reunion with Sheldon isn’t quite what we expect, even with Steve Holland hinting to it being acknowledged in some way.
Young Sheldon airs on CBS on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET as part of the 2024 TV schedule, and episodes can also be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription. Tune in for the final season to see what becomes of the Coopers and to see how they handle some of the bigger moments that are still on the way.
