Why didn't we see Dale from Young Sheldon appear on The Big Bang Theory? Details explored

While many characters from Young Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory's prequel spinoff series, appear in the parent show, many were also left out.

Meemaw, Missy, and Mary appeared in TBBT as part of Sheldon's immediate family, but many characters, like Dale, Meemaw's boyfriend, did not appear in the original sitcom.

Dale, introduced in Young Sheldon Season 3, was a recurring character and Connie, aka Meemaw's boyfriend.

Since TBBT was focused on Sheldon's adult life, only characters central to his growing-up years appeared in the sitcom. Since Dale was a supporting character with no direct link to Sheldon, he was not shown in the original series.

More on Dale's character in Young Sheldon in our story.

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Young Sheldon finale did not show Meemaw and Dale's marriage

While Dale was Meemaw's on-and-off boyfriend throughout Young Sheldon, the couple finally got their footing in the show's later seasons, where they were also living together.

While the finale mainly focused on George Cooper's funeral and Sheldon's move to California, it did not properly address Dale and Meemaw's storyline and what became of them after the show ended.

While many fans anticipated that the next natural step for them would be to get married, but the spin-off series ended without mentioning if the couple finally got married.

Many characters from Sheldon's past appeared in TBBT, including his Meemaw, with whom he shared a special bond, but that also did not confirm whether she married Dale after the spin-off's finale.

Meemaw appears in TBBT and matches Amy's condition of having to put up with ''a stubborn, egotistical man... because that was my husband." While this hints that she might have married Dale, the show does not make it explicit.

In addition, Dale was a part of the extended universe, having no direct connection with Sheldon, which is why makers did not name-drop him in Meemaw's TBBT appearance.

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Dale appeared in Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage

While Dale did not appear in TBBT, he did have a guest appearance in TBBT and Young Sheldon's second spin-off series, Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage.

The second spin-off series, which debuted on CBS in October 2024, focuses on Georgie's life after his father's death and his marriage to Mandy.

Dale appeared in Episode 5, titled Thanksgiving, which followed the Cooper family's first Thanksgiving after their patriarch's death.

While Meemaw and Dale were present at the family dinner, along with Mary and Missy, the couple did not join the Coopers when they went to George's grave in the episode's final moments.

In an interview with TVLine, co-creator Steve Holland discussed the idea of leaving Dale and Meemaw out of this pivotal emotional moment:

''...it felt like the core family should be there. This [storyline] was really about Mary and Georgie, more specifically, and Missy, and about losing George... it really felt like just having the core family there was the most important visual.''

He added:

''And then it also helped pay off the joke when you go back to the McAllister house. It seemed funny that this random assortment of people were just left there — like, Dale and MeeMaw were just sort of, you know, stuck having Thanksgiving dinner without their family.''

While Dale has only appeared in one episode till now, it would be interesting to see whether he will appear in more guest roles in the spin-off.

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