'Big Bang' Spin-Off Definitely Coming to CBS

Until now, we've had to assume that Young Sheldon, the proposed spin-off of The Big Bang Theory, was going to happen. The series' production team was in place, and the show had cast its lead actors. But CBS, the parent series' home network, had not yet officially ordered a pilot, leaving the future of the project in question. That has changed.

This week, CBS announced that it would not just order a pilot, but instead would order the show straight to series. That means it's definitely going to be on the network's schedule somewhere, and it won't have to go through an audition process to convince network execs to give it a slot.

CBS did not, however, announce how many episodes it would initially order or where the sitcom will actually hit the air.

In a previous announcement, the producers of the series had confirmed they'd cast Big Little Lies actor Iain Armitage as the young Sheldon Cooper and Zoe Perry as his mother. It was also announced that Iron Man director Jon Favreau will direct the series' first episode. Jim Parsons, who stars as the older Sheldon in Big Bang, will serve as a producer on the spin-off.