‘Young Sheldon’ series finale attracts nearly 9 million viewers, biggest audience in four years

With a bang-on finale after seven seasons "Young Sheldon" hit nearly 9 million viewers, labeled as the biggest episode in four years of the series' run on CBS. 

In a star-studded finale, the "Big Bang Theory" spinoff bid farewell with a double-header event that left fans on the edge of their seats. The very best episode titled "Funeral" aired at 8pm garnered an audience of 8.8 million viewers – followed by "Memoir", the series finale, which accumulated an impressive 8.95 million viewers. 

Notably, "Memoir" became the heyday of CBS's most substantial non-sports Thursday night.  This marked a significant 28% increase compared to the viewership average of Season 7 up to that point. All data referenced is based on Live + Same Day figures from Nielsen.

The closing of the spinoff series also witnessed a notable leap in livestream viewership. CBS reported a remarkable 39% increase in live views for "Young Sheldon" across Paramount+, CBS.com, and the CBS app compared to the preceding week, with an even more impressive 50% spike compared to the Season 6 finale.

The momentum didn't halt there — episodes of "Young Sheldon" continue to experience growth in delayed viewing, with Season 7 averaging a substantial 13 million viewers when factoring in 35 days of viewership.

The years of remarkable ratings topped off with Thursday night achievements for the "Big Bang Theory" spinoff. Since its premiere during the 2017-2018 broadcast season, it swiftly claimed the title of the most-watched new comedy. Following the closure of "The Big Bang Theory", it ascended to become the paramount broadcast comedy during the 2019-2020 season. 

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Remarkably, it has maintained its position as the top comedy for five consecutive seasons, thereby upholding CBS's 19-year legacy of hosting the most-watched comedy of the year. 

Prior to the reign of "Young Sheldon" and "The Big Bang Theory," CBS secured this accolade with hits like "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Two and a Half Men". In an exclusive interview with Variety, "Young Sheldon" executive producer Steve Holland dug into the finale, which featured original Sheldon actor Jim Parsons and "Big Bang Theory" co-star Mayim Bialik, while also shedding light on the forthcoming spinoff, "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage".