Perhaps surprisingly to some viewers, Young Sheldon consistently produces some of CBS’s best, highest ratings. The coming-of-age sitcom proved to be a hit as soon as it premiered, and has continued to attract millions of fans through its fifth season. Young Sheldon’s viewership is currently one of the highest of all shows on CBS as well as all current broadcast television comedies.
Young Sheldon is a prequel series to The Big Bang Theory, exploring the childhood of extraordinarily brilliant Sheldon Cooper, played by Iain Armitage, as he struggles to fit in with his East Texas friends and family. A satisfyingly funny show that manages to stay fresh and moving, Young Sheldon’s focus on family dynamics and values has been found relatable and amusing to many viewers. The series faithfully carries the legacy of The Big Bang Theory; as Young Sheldon is shaping up to be extremely popular in the 2020s, its predecessor may have been the most popular sitcom of the previous decade.
Season five of Young Sheldon reached season peak ratings at 0.83 for viewing audiences aged 18-49, meaning 0.83 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds tuned in during one episode. This peak, however, is still lower than the average rating for any of Young Sheldon’s previous seasons, ranging from 3.3 to 1.2. Ratings were highest for season one’s premiere, as is common to most sitcoms, but Young Sheldon’s subsequent seasons tend to peak for each season’s finale; if this holds true for season five, Young Sheldon’s average rating may increase significantly.
Viewership is very high for Young Sheldon, regardless of ratings. The first thirteen episodes of the fifth season make it comfortably the most-watched broadcast television comedy of the 2021-2022 season, bringing in 9.28 million total viewers and an average of 7.13 million viewers per episode. This, however, is a series low; the first season averaged a height of 16.3 million viewers and the fourth season reached 9.45 million. This discrepancy indicates an overall decrease in viewership of television comedies. Young Sheldon isn’t in particular danger of cancellation, however; it has managed to attract and hold onto such a proportionally large audience, indicative of its potential longevity.
Having already been confirmed for a sixth and seventh season on CBS, Young Sheldon is set to explore more stories. However, despite the show’s popularity and success, it has a long way to go to become its predecessor’s equal; The Big Bang Theory ran for twelve seasons, with viewership averaging 16.2 million, nearly Young Sheldon’s peak. Nevertheless, Young Sheldon has comfortably forged a place of its own in primetime television and will most likely maintain its viewership and ratings for as long as it runs.
