TVLINE | When we last spoke around George Sr.’s death, you said fans most often approached you about the Season 2 episode where George takes Missy on a father-daughter date to Red Lobster. Has that shifted at all since he’s been gone?
No, I think that has stuck, honestly. I just watched that episode again recently, and I understand why. That hasn’t shifted in regards to people approaching me and saying it’s one of their favorite episodes, that’s for sure. People do say they have other things they love about the show, or George, or my relationships, but that still seems to be the one that stands out.
TVLINE | By that point, “Young Sheldon” had already changed how fans saw George Sr. from “The Big Bang Theory” version. Even so, did the intensity of the reaction to his death surprise you at all?
It did. I mean, that’s the second thing I hear about, aside from the Red Lobster [episode] — how it crushed people. I mean, just the other day, in public, I’ve had people approach me about what it meant to them personally because they had a [similar] experience with a parent they lost — certainly about a father they’ve lost. I’ve been approached about that a number of times, and that’s always quite moving, so I think that really stuck in people’s minds.
I was always curious to come back to “Georgie & Mandy” to see how it would land on people. In the first season, when George appeared, I think it was really appropriate to be seen in Georgie’s dreams. Of course he would have dreams of his father. Dreams are something where all kinds of things can happen, right? They’re not reality. But just the fact that he shows up, I think showed the significance of what that character had on people that watched the show.
TVLINE | At the time, I didn’t realize you had dressed up as a distant relative and attended George’s funeral. Beyond the Easter egg for fans, did that help you and the cast get through what must’ve been a pretty emotional few days on set?
I hope that it did. That was some of the intention. It was for morale, it was for a very heavy day at work, having a funeral. There’s a lot of acting going on that required a lot of emotion. And it also marked what was going to be the end of seven years for all of us on the show. So it wasn’t just George’s death — it was a marker for all of this time that we spent together and it coming to an end. So it was highly emotional, I think, for everybody.
It was also a long-running inside joke on the show. I came into this job knowing that George, in the history of the show, was going to die, right? Those that watched “The Big Bang Theory” — we had fans who didn’t watch “Big Bang,” but most of them knew that George had passed on when Sheldon was a young man. So there was always the running joke on set with me and Zoe [Perry], and Annie [Potts] and the kids, too, that if George ever kicks the bucket in any of these seasons, there’s always a chance for Lance to keep working if I come back as his twin sister.
There was a show called “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Max Baer Jr. played Jethro, and he also would come on the show in drag as Jethreen, Jethro’s sister. That was kind of our inside joke — I would do a Jethreen or a “Georgette” or a “Georgina,” and come back on the show in drag just so I could stay on the show. So part of that day was also to hit the punchline on that joke. One of our producers said, “If we’re going to do this, today’s the day to do it.” And I said, “Well, it would also be great for morale, give everybody a smile… let’s do it.” They hustled through costume department to find something that would fit me, and hair to find a wig that would fit me, and I went into makeup and showed up in the congregation for George’s funeral.
