Big Bang Theory Fans Just Got the Best Surprise on Young Sheldon

Big Bang Theory fans got the ultimate early holiday present in the last 30 seconds of Young Sheldon's season four premiere. (Spoilers ahead!)

As adult Sheldon (Jim Parsons) did his traditional voiceover to close out the episode, he was joined—via voiceover—by his on-screen wife Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik). And that wasn't even the entire surprise, but more on that in a minute.

The episode—which was originally intended as the season three finale before concerns of COVID-19 shut down most of Hollywood in mid-March—centered on Sheldon's graduation from high school and his fears of going to college. Instead of completely scrapping the episode altogether, co-creator and executive producer Steve Molaro decided to carry over the episode to act as the show's season four premiere, re-writing “very little," but adding something very substantial.

“You’d never know some of the episode was shot seven months ago," Molaro says from the Young Sheldon set in Los Angeles. "Sheldon's speech, for instance, was shot in mid-March at Van Nuys High School, and we got kicked out in the middle of shooting just as we managed to get Iain’s stuff done. The superintendent came to our line producer and said, ‘The school’s shutting down, we can have no outside visitors, you guys have to go.’ So we packed up slowly, and Iain banged out [Sheldon's graduation speech]."

The speech—about being scared but forging ahead anyway—was written seven months ago, but Molaro notes the irony of the timing given the uncertainty in the world. “I can’t say we had foresight to know that type of thinking would be appropriate for everything going on these days, but it’s nice it works out that way,” he says.

Which brings us to the closing minutes of Young Sheldon's premiere. In a voiceover, Parsons—as adult Sheldon—says he and Missy had a graduation party, which normally wouldn't be something to ride home about (remember, Sheldon is not fond of such gatherings). But “this one wasn't so bad.” In fact, “It was best graduation party I had ever been to…until the one we had for my son, Leonard Cooper.”

I'm sorry, what?!

Astute viewers knew that in the future Sheldon and Amy had kids, but that was it. So now we know they had a son—and that they named him after Sheldon's best friend, Leonard Hofstatder.

Sheldon says he wanted his son's name to be Leonard Nimoy Cooper—after the iconic Star Trek actor—“but Amy wouldn't let me.” Then we hear Bialik say, “Be happy I let you name him Leonard!” Sheldon replies, "Okay, okay!" Amy says, “Love you.” Sheldon says, “Love you too,” and that's the end of the episode.

It was short, but the best gift for fans craving nostalgia. To know that even though Big Bang Theory may no longer be airing new episodes, it is still a living, breathing world thanks to moments like these on Young Sheldon, well…it was special.

Naturally, such a development required immediate answers from Molaro, who was game to break down how the moment came to be, and what it means going forward. Big Bang Theory fans, this is for you.

Glamour: Well, let’s talk about that ending. I freaked out.

Steve Molaro: [Laughs.] It was not in the script when it was [intended as] the season three finale. It was something that came up when we were gearing back up to work.

That's amazing. Who came up with the idea?

I did. In my mind, I always thought Sheldon would want his son's name to be Leonard Nimoy Cooper. I’ve kind of had that joke for a while. And when I added it in, I thought it would be nice to hear Amy say, “No.” [Laughs] We gave Mayim a call, and she was happy to do it. We had fun recording it. It’s pretty neat we have this ability—in little ways here and there—to keep The Big Bang Theory story alive.

What was Mayim and Jim's reaction?

Everybody was thrilled. She said yes immediately and loved it. What's funny is that she was on the lot doing her pilot Call Me Kat [which airs early 2021 on FOX] and came over to our building to record it. She sat in the Young Sheldon’s writers room, which was formerly The Big Bang writers room. I was down the hall on Zoom, but I saw her from a distance when we were done, and it was so great to see her.

Like you said, it’s a great way to keep the show alive. I can’t recall another show being able to do this, where it feels like a new development for a show that went off the air.

It is an interesting thing, because there are no rules here. There are no rules to what can happen in narration, so why can’t there be two people talking? I always felt it was important that Big Bang as a show could end, but the friendships shouldn’t. I wanted to know the morning after that finale they’d all still be in that building. So it’s something very comforting to know that group is still in each other’s lives.

Thanks to Young Sheldon, we know Sheldon and Amy have multiple kids, but it hasn’t been made clear how many. Is that something you plan to reveal?

I know how many I think, but I don’t want to say it yet because I don’t want to make anything official. I have my own personal ideas about these kids and what they’re like and how Sheldon feels about them, but I don’t know what will become of reality through narration or not. Because of that, I’m hesitating to give you details, but I have thoughts about it.

There will most likely be more of these Big Bang moments on Young Sheldon, so would you ever want to explore the possibility of seeing Leonard Cooper in the future? Or have I been watching too much This Is Us?

I don’t know. Probably not, because now you’re talking about having the future on film, which is a thing we haven’t really done. Anything can happen. But right now, the future happens in narration and the past is what we’re watching. No plans, but I’m open to anything.

Does the rest of The Big Bang Theory cast, aside from Mayim and Jim, know about this development? Or will it be a surprise to them as well?

I am sure it will be a surprise to them.

I feel like Big Bang Theory fan fiction sites will explode with this new information. What are you most excited about when this airs?

I just hope the people who enjoy Young Sheldon remember that we're back. I get choked up every time I watch Sheldon’s graduation speech and Missy’s reaction. Reagan [Revord] does such a good job of looking so touched when Sheldon delivers his speech to her, and it kills me every time.

What can you tell us about season four, especially now that Sheldon has graduated high school?

We’ll spend some time in the summer before college starts. Sheldon volunteers to be a docent at the train museum, and Sheldon and Missy go to bible camp. Sheldon also tries to finally learn how to ride a bike, but breaks his arm.

Young Sheldon airs Thursdays at 8 P.M. ET/7 P.M. CT on CBS.

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Twitter at @JRadloff and Instagram at @jessicaradloff14.

Originally Appeared on Glamour