Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 5.
A brief comment from George in Young Sheldon season 5 indirectly criticizes Penny's past in The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) dad never physically appeared in the nerd-centric sitcom as he was long dead before the events of The Big Bang Theory. But while George (Lance Barber) never met any of Sheldon's friends, a remark he made in Young Sheldon season 5, episode 19 can be interpreted as a subtle dig at Penny (Kaley Cuoco).
The Big Bang Theory started just after Penny moved into the apartment across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard (Johnny Galecki). At that point, the 4A boys had already been roommates for several years. The three quickly became friends, although that was primarily because of Leonard's attraction toward their new neighbor. During the early seasons of The Big Bang Theory, Penny was depicted as the stereotypical blonde bombshell who mingles with the nerds. Reinforcing that stereotype, the sitcom also blatantly sexualized the character, and oftentimes used that as the basis for many a cheap laugh.
Early on in the CBS sitcom, Penny got a reputation for sleeping around, and the show leaned on it for a while. In The Big Bang Theory season 3 episode "The Staircase Implementation," a flashback scene revealed her back in Nebraska nonchalantly taking a pregnancy test as if it's something that she's used to doing. Given Georgie's (Montana Jordan) current predicament in Young Sheldon, Penny is the kind of girl that George is describing when he explains to his son that there are girls who like to sleep around. In the conversation, the Cooper patriarch is trying to make sure that Georgie is indeed the father of Mandy's (Emily Osment) baby, suggesting that perhaps, she has also been seeing other men who could have fathered the child.
It's no secret that The Big Bang Theory's brand of humor was problematic, especially in its earlier years. The sitcom used those misogynistic comments, usually from Sheldon and directed at Penny, to get some cheap laughs from the audience. As the seasons went by and Cuoco started having a say on how to handle her character on the screen, there was a noticeable change in the depiction of Penny.
It was inappropriate to paint her in that light; while Penny liked going out on dates and some of them ended back in her apartment, she was a fully-grown adult who shouldn't have been shamed for her personal choices. Luckily, Young Sheldon is more careful with its type of comedy since it's more of a family dramedy than a straight-up sitcom. For example, Mandy hasn't been shamed for getting pregnant knowing full well that Georgie is also to blame in the situation.
Young Sheldon is currently CBS' number one comedy. While it hasn't reached the same popularity as The Big Bang Theory, it has time to grow its fanbase with seasons 6 and 7 already guaranteed; it might be renewed for additional ones beyond that. But more than that, it also has the chance to be better in terms of quality and brand of humor.
Young Sheldon season 5 airs Thursdays on CBS.