First Look: Annie Potts Makes ‘Young Sheldon’ Debut

Young Sheldon will feature a ‘younger’ Meemaw for the first time this week.

Actress Annie Potts joins the cast of the CBS comedy this Thursday as Sheldon Cooper’s grandmother, whom he frequently raves about in sequel series The Big Bang Theory.

In episode three of Young Sheldon, titled “Poker, Faith and Eggs,” Sheldon’s mother Mary takes George Sr. to the emergency room, sticking her mother as the kids’ babysitter.

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In the sneak peek shared by TV Line, George Sr. and Mary return home to find Sheldon up past his bedtime and playing a hand of five-card stud with his Meemaw. Meanwhile, son Georgie is lighting fireworks he got while on a beer run for his grandmother, and daughter Missy is running around on a sugar high.

That’s what grandmothers are for, right?

CBS’ hit The Big Bang Theory first introduced Mary’s wise, yet wild mother into the script in season 2 of the long-running show. But despite Sheldon’s many stories of his beloved Meemaw, the only appeared in one season 9 episode titled “The Meemaw Materialization,” where she was played by actress June Squibb.

This will be the first time viewers see Potts as the beloved character, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, her portrayal of Meemaw is described as a “foul-mouthed, hard-drinking Texas grandmother” that is supportive of Sheldon, despite his many quirks.

Potts is best known for her roles as Janine Melnitz in Ghostbusters, Iona in Pretty in Pink and Mary Jo Shively in Designing Women. She also voiced Bo Peep in Toy Story. More recently, she’s appeared on the TV shows Chicago Med, GCB and The Fosters.

Young Sheldon airs Thursdays at 8:30 EST on CBS after The Big Bang Theory.