9 million viewers, the biggest in four years

“Young Sheldon” reached nearly 9 million viewers with its seven-season finale on CBS Thursday night, marking the series’ biggest episode in four years.

The “Big Bang Theory” spinoff ended with back-to-back episodes. The penultimate episode, “Funeral”, aired at 8 p.m. and averaged 8.8 million viewers before “Memoir” aired immediately afterward and closed the series with 8.95 million viewers – the most watched program of the evening, propelling “Young Sheldon” to new heights. hasn’t reached since the Season 3 finale reached 10.2 million viewers in April 2020 and helped CBS achieve its biggest non-sports Thursday night since the same day. This is also a 28% improvement over the season 7 viewership average to date. (All statistics refer to Nielsen Live + Same Day data.)

The conclusion also led to an increase in live viewers. According to CBS, live views of “Young Sheldon” on Paramount+, CBS.com and the CBS app saw a 39% increase from the previous week and a 50% increase from the Season 6 finale.

“Young Sheldon” episodes continue to grow in delayed viewing, with Season 7 averaging 13 million viewers per 35 days of viewership, a 17% increase over the live + 35 day average. season 6. On Paramount+, CBS.com and the CBS app, streaming is up 200% year over year.

Thursday night capped years of ratings success for the “Big Bang Theory” spinoff, which was the most-watched new comedy when it debuted during the 2017-2018 broadcast season and became the most major comedy aired during the 2019-20 season after “The Big Bang Theory” left the air. It remained the No. 1 comedy for five consecutive seasons and continues a 19-year-old tradition of CBS presenting the most-watched comedy of the year. (Before “Young Sheldon” and “The Big Bang Theory,” the network gained in comedy with “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Two and a Half Men.”)

Variety interviewed “Young Sheldon” executive producer Steve Holland about the finale — which featured original Sheldon actor Jim Parsons and “Big Bang Theory” co-star Mayim Bialik — as well as the upcoming spin-off, “Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage”.