Young Sheldon’s Finale Has A Sweet Big Bang Theory Easter Egg You Probably Missed

As the first spin-off of “The Big Bang Theory,” “Young Sheldon” initially felt like a dicey proposition. The potential was there for a zany sitcom that strained to get big laughs out of a child actor (Iain Armitage) who mimicked all of Jim Parsons’ mannerisms and catchphrases. There was also the fact that viewers knew, through 12 seasons of meted-out backstory, Sheldon didn’t have a particularly enjoyable childhood. Most importantly, we knew that he resented his father, who, according to Sheldon, was a philandering drunk.

We now know that showrunners Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro, and Steve Holland eschewed the soundstage-bound, multi-camera aesthetic of “The Big Bang Theory” in favor of a single-camera approach that, tonally, sought to evoke the winsome nostalgia of “The Wonder Years.” It worked. Fans of the long-running mothership show immediately embraced this new series, while, surprisingly, critics gradually fell in love with it, too.

As “Young Sheldon” approached the end of its seventh and final season, it faced a number of creative challenges. The biggest conundrum was how to deal with the death of George Cooper Sr. (Lance Barber). Though Molaro and Holland were pleased with how they sent off the character (who wound up being far more likable than viewers had been led to expect from Sheldon’s remembrances on “The Big Bang Theory”), Lorre thinks they should’ve subverted expectations (and Sheldon’s memory) by not killing George.

Less of a problem, but still tricky, was the series’ final scene. Fans obviously wanted a grace note that put a fond, perhaps gently melancholic bow on the show’s heartfelt run. Most viewers seem to agree that the writers stuck the landing, but they might not have realized the actor who shares the scene with Armitage was an easter egg cameo that tied both “The Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon” together.

In an interview with The Wrap, showrunner Steve Holland revealed that Sheldon’s final scene, where he encounters a professor on the campus of Caltech who asks him if he’s lost, was an opportunity to honor one of the most important behind-the-scenes contributors to the show.

Initially, the creative team thought about casting a celebrity scientist, but quickly decided that would take viewers out of what was meant to be a poignant moment for Sheldon. So they decided to go with a man who’d been an integral part of “The Big Bang Theory” universe. Per Holland:

“[The professor] is actually David Saltzberg, who’s our science consultant from ‘Big Bang’ all the way through ‘Young Sheldon,’ so he’s probably been involved with the character Sheldon as long as anybody, except for maybe Chuck [Lorre] and Jim [Parsons] — I think he worked on the first ‘Big Bang Theory’ pilot, and he’s been with us ever since. That was our little private easter egg as a way to acknowledge the contributions that David has made to this character in the show over the last 16 years.”

Saltzburg currently teaches at UCLA, where he specializes in particle physics. He also consulted on Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” and, one presumes, will continue to be one of Hollywood’s go-to nerds when it comes to maintaining scientific accuracy in films and television. Saltzberg couldn’t be happier. As he told NPR in 2013, “This has a lot more impact than anything I will ever do. It’s hard to fathom, when you think about 20 million viewers on the first showing — and that doesn’t include other countries and reruns. I’m happy if a paper I write gets read by a dozen people.”

There probably hasn’t been much use for Saltzberg’s expertise on the new “The Big Bang Theory” spin-off, “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” which centers on Sheldon’s non-geek older brother’s journey from unexpected father to tire magnate, but it’s safe to say Lorre and company wouldn’t have gotten here without the scientist’s involvement.