Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 6.
Young Sheldon season 6 just wasted its best and final Thanksgiving episode opportunity. The Big Bang Theory spin-off continues the Coopers' story after the tumultuous season 5, which brought a lot of changes into their household. Luckily, things are starting to look up for Sheldon and his family as everyone's individual and collective woes finally sort themselves out. However, it will be a while before it's revealed what's next for them, as Young Sheldon takes its first break of the year.
Young Sheldon season 6 is currently on hiatus in light of the Thanksgiving holiday, which prevents the perfect and perhaps final chance to stage a themed episode around the said holiday. Given the established The Big Bang Theory timeline, this year is supposed to be the last Thanksgiving that the Coopers are complete and happy. In a year, Sheldon would have likely already caught George cheating, which would cause irreparable damage in their relationship, and soon after the family patriarch is supposed to die. As such, Young Sheldon season 6 would have been the only time for the whole group to properly celebrate Thanksgiving together as a family.
Why Young Sheldon Isn’t Doing Holiday-Themed Episodes
As Young Sheldon breaks away from TBBT, it embraces its familial elements, effectively differentiating itself from the flagship series. For some reason, however, it barely does any holiday-themed episodes. It has only done one Thanksgiving-centered outing back in season 2, and it has yet to do one for Christmas. This is especially interesting considering Mary's unwavering faith, as it seems like she would never pass up on the opportunity for religious celebration, especially before she and her family were shunned away by Pastor Jeff and the rest of the congregation. Even after this, it isn’t like she has totally walked away from her faith for her to disregard even Christmas.
Young Sheldon Needs Holiday Episodes More Than The Big Bang Theory
Admittedly, when The Big Bang Theory ended in 2019, it also didn't do many holiday-themed episodes. The nerd-centric sitcom did a few great Christmas-focused narratives which resulted in some great moments, however, including Sheldon awkwardly hugging Penny for her Leonard Nimoy-used napkin gift. That being said, while The Big Bang Theory could get away with ignoring holidays, Young Sheldon is poised for such outings as it revolves around a family which is usually the nucleus of these celebrations, particularly Thanksgiving. CBS could have also used this opportunity to further highlight the bond of the Coopers.
As Young Sheldon season 6 continues, CBS needs to lean on the familial elements of the show because they have a limited time to do this. Between Georgie’s already delayed cheating scandal and Mandy and Georgie’s inevitable split, things are expected to go downhill for his family in the near future. So before all of that happens, The Big Bang Theory spin-off should take advantage of this comparatively blissful time in the Cooper household.
Young Sheldon season 6 airs Thursdays on CBS.