Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Review

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage immediately starts off with the perfect title. In The Big Bang Theory, it’s stated that George Cooper, Jr. (Jerry O’Connell, Sliders) is with his third wife, but in Young Sheldon, the relationship between young Georgie (Montana Jordan, Big Bang Theory) and Mandy McAllister (Emily Osment, Pretty Smart) instantly became a favorite. 

The title is the strongest part of the show at the beginning of Season 1 because it indicates Georgie and Mandy will end up getting divorced to then move on to their second marriage aka the second wife. If that’s true it’s great, but it’s yet to happen.

Somewhere in between Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, the personalities became a big joke. Georgie went from being this kid who had some comedic moments but was genuine to someone who’s only used to land jokes — some work and some don’t. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage overloads the comedic side where there’s no good balance with Georgie’s more serious tone or simply anything without some sort of comeback. Yes, Georgie is still the stand-up citizen he’s always been, but he no longer feels authentic. He’s just used as a punchline. 

The same can be said for almost every character. The show as a whole seems to have lost the sense of plot and gained an unnecessary amount of trying to be the comedic clown in the friend group.

With Georgie and Mandy living with her parents, it’s only natural to make her brother more of a main character. The more fleshed-out Connor McAllister (Dougie Baldwin) seems like the creators simply wanted another unique personality that the rest of the family doesn’t understand with a mother who will favor him — similar to Sheldon. Without young Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) being part of the series, Connor appears to try and fill the void. But there’s no reason for this much of a similarity when the show isn’t about Sheldon.

While Connor is a fun addition and a great break from the main characters, it seems more like copy and paste, but when your friend says don’t make it obvious before you turn homework in. Thankfully as the show progresses, he’s shown to have more of his own qualities and attitude.

The Big Bang Theory has comedic moments in every episode and almost every scene, but it doesn’t sacrifice emotional moments. The same is true for Young Sheldon. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, on the other hand, has not kept up the balance. That said, the show does actually have potential. Somehow over time, the show wears you down just like Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) did with Penny (Kaley Cuoco). 

Their corny (and most definitely too many) jokes begin to not feel so out of place and the character development is to thank for that. The way Georgie steps up to take care of his family, it’s easily forgotten he’s a high school dropout. His relationship with Mandy and her family has the show begin trusting its characters more than its gags. Georgie and Mandy’s journey might not be as rich or poignant as Sheldon’s origin story, but it’s starting to find its own rhythm — even if it took a bumpy first season to get there.

If the writers can rein in the sitcom noise and reintroduce the emotional core that made its predecessors so beloved, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage can grow into something worthy of The Big Bang legacy. Not every joke needs a punchline, and not every relationship needs to be perfect — just believable. And that’s when this show is at its best.

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is now streaming on Paramount+