The season finale of “Young Sheldon” drew in an impressive audience of nearly 9 million viewers on CBS Thursday night, making it the most-watched episode of the series in the past four years.
The spinoff of the popular show “Big Bang Theory” came to an end with two consecutive episodes. The second-to-last episode, titled “Funeral,” aired at 8 p.m. and was watched by an average of 8.8 million viewers. This was followed by the final episode, “Memoir,” which became the most-watched program of the night with 8.95 million viewers. The finale helped “Young Sheldon” reach its highest viewership since the Season 3 finale in April 2020, which had 10.2 million viewers. Additionally, it contributed to CBS having its most successful non-sports Thursday night since the same day. The viewership for the final episode also saw a significant increase of 28% compared to the average viewership of Season 7 so far. (All statistics are based on Live + Same Day data from Nielsen.)
The conclusion of the show also saw a significant increase in livestream viewership. CBS reported that live views of “Young Sheldon” on Paramount+, CBS.com, and the CBS app experienced a 39% surge from the previous week, and a 50% increase compared to the Season 6 finale.
Episodes of “Young Sheldon” have experienced consistent growth in delayed viewing, as Season 7 has seen an average of 13 million viewers within a span of 35 days. This marks a significant 17% increase from the average viewership of Season 6 during the same time period. Moreover, streaming of the show on Paramount+, CBS.com, and the CBS app has skyrocketed, with a remarkable 200% surge in viewership compared to the previous year.
Thursday night marked the culmination of several years of impressive ratings for the spinoff series “Young Sheldon”. Since its debut in the 2017-2018 broadcast season, it has consistently held the title of the most-watched new comedy. Following the departure of its predecessor “The Big Bang Theory,” “Young Sheldon” went on to claim the top spot as the biggest broadcast comedy during the 2019-2020 season. This success has continued for five consecutive seasons, making it the number one comedy on air. CBS has maintained its tradition of hosting the most-watched comedy of the year for a remarkable 19 years, with previous winners including “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Two and a Half Men.”
In a recent interview with Variety, executive producer Steve Holland discussed the finale of “Young Sheldon” and the highly anticipated spinoff, “Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage.” The finale episode, which included appearances from original Sheldon actor Jim Parsons and “Big Bang Theory” co-star Mayim Bialik, left fans excited for what’s to come in the spinoff series.