Big Bang: Young Sheldon Primed To Surpass Its Elder

Canvs, the emotion measurement leader, is useful for tracking how show audiences respond to content. And with reviews like this one from AV Club -- Young Sheldon Fails To Make A Big Bang -- we couldn't help but think there was a richer story to tell other than the general shade throwing at an unfamiliar new show concept.We used the Canvs Compare tool to measure the emotions surrounding CBS's The Big Bang Theory and its new spin-off show Young Sheldon. The image below says it all. With only two airings to The Big Bang Theory's six, Young Sheldon has more than half the Emotional Reactions (ERs).Each show is enjoying the same Reaction Rate, and Young Sheldon is on pace to surpass The Big Bang Theory in total ERs per show if it keeps this up.It's also worth citing Nellie Andreeva's Deadline story today -- 'Young Sheldon' Slips But Keeps Strong -- which notes the two shows weren't far off from each other from a standard quantitative ratings perspective.

At 8 PM, The Big Bang Theory (2.7 rating in adults 19-49, 14.1 million viewers), was off just a tenth from its most recent Monday outing. At 8:30 PM, the Big Bang spin off Young Sheldon (2.4, 14.1 million) was down from its stellar preview on Premiere Monday (3.8, 17.21 million, Big Bang lead-in retention of 98% in viewers, 93% in 18-49) but once again showed strong retention: 94% in total viewers and 89% in adults 18-49. Even with a downward adjustment, that would be better than any other comedy following Big Bang. 

After initially launching on the heels of The Big Bang Theory's season premier (Sept 25th), the Young Sheldon just came back from a month-long hiatus with episode two airing last night. We'll keep an eye on things in the coming weeks. It seems to us that there's a much different story to be told about the emotional resonance of the Young Sheldon, which appears to be drawing as much, if not more, engaged viewer attention.Bang.