'Big Bang Theory' spinoff 'Young Sheldon' ordered CBS

Jim Parsons on the CBS Television Network's "The Big Bang Theory." (©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved)

CBS has officially given a series order for “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff “Young Sheldon,” Variety has learned. The half-hour single camera series, currently with an unspecified number of episodes ordered, will premiere in the 2017-2018 season.

Created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro, the series follows “The Big Bang Theory’s” Sheldon Cooper at age 9, living with his family in East Texas and going to high school.

Jon Favreau is directing and executive producing the first episode of the series, which stars Iain Armitage as 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper — played by Jim Parsons on “Big Bang” — as well as Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Raegan Revord and Montana Jordan. Armitage is a triple-threat, starring on HBO’s “Big Little Lies” as Shailene Woodley’s on-screen son, while Jordan will make his acting debut opposite Josh Brolin in upcoming indie “The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter.” The cast was rumored to be set earlier in March.

“Big Bang” showrunner Molaro wrote the pilot script. Lorre, Molaro, Parsons and Todd Spiewak will serve as executive producers of the series, from Chuck Lorre Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

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Parsons will also narrate the comedy as Adult Sheldon.

As for the mothership, “Big Bang,” now in its 10th season, hasn’t been immune to the ratings erosion plaguing most series, but is still the biggest comedy by far on broadcast, and as such is being eyed for a two-season renewal at CBS, sources say. “Big Bang” star Johnny Galecki also has the multicam pilot “Living Biblically” in contention at the network.

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