The Big Bang Theory: Meemaw's Missing Moment At Sheldon's Wedding

Fans of The Big Bang Theory were surprised to see that Meemaw, Sheldon's beloved grandmother, was not in attendance at his wedding to Amy. Showrunner Steve Holland explained that the episode was already very long and that they had to make hard decisions about what to cut. A scene was written and recorded in which Meemaw called Sheldon to explain that she was too frail to travel, being in her 90s, but it was ultimately cut for time. Holland also noted that the creative team didn't want to confuse viewers by including two different actresses playing Meemaw, as Annie Potts plays the character in Young Sheldon, which aired immediately after The Big Bang Theory.

Meemaw was absent from Sheldon and Amy's wedding due to time constraints

Meemaw, Sheldon's beloved grandmother, was notably absent from his wedding to Amy in the season 11 finale of The Big Bang Theory. This came as a surprise to fans, given how important Meemaw is to Sheldon. While the writers had originally planned a scene where Meemaw called Sheldon to explain her absence, it was ultimately cut due to time constraints.

Showrunner Steve Holland explained that the episode was already very long and included many guest stars and subplots. Including Meemaw's phone call would have meant sacrificing 30 seconds of screen time from the wedding. Holland acknowledged that this was a difficult decision, as it was a sweet moment that provided an explanation for her absence. He also expected that people would wonder why Meemaw wasn't mentioned. However, he felt that the episode as a whole was more important, and the scene was cut to allow for a longer wedding scene.

The decision to exclude Meemaw was also influenced by the desire to avoid confusing viewers. At the time, Young Sheldon was airing immediately after The Big Bang Theory, and the two versions of Meemaw, played by different actresses, were significantly different. Including both versions back-to-back may have been jarring for the audience.

A scene explaining her absence was cut from the episode

Fans of The Big Bang Theory were surprised to find that Meemaw, Sheldon's beloved grandmother, was missing from his wedding to Amy in the season 11 finale. Showrunner Steve Holland explained that the episode was already very long and that the creative team had to make some tough decisions about what to cut. Meemaw's absence was not due to any story reasons, and she was alive and well in the series. In fact, a scene was written and recorded in which Meemaw called Sheldon to explain that she was too frail to travel to the wedding, being in her 90s. However, this scene was ultimately cut from the episode due to time constraints. Holland acknowledged that this was a difficult decision, as it was a sweet moment, and he knew that fans would wonder about Meemaw's absence. He also revealed that CBS planned to release the deleted scene online after the episode aired.

The decision to cut the scene was influenced by the desire to focus on the wedding itself and various subplots, as well as the presence of numerous guest stars. Additionally, the creative team wanted to avoid confusing viewers with two different versions of Meemaw, as Annie Potts played the character in Young Sheldon, which aired immediately following The Big Bang Theory. Despite the explanation, some fans still felt that the show should have at least mentioned Meemaw's absence, even if it was just a brief line from Mary.

Meemaw was alive and well during the show's finale

Meemaw is a primary character on Young Sheldon, where she occasionally helped her daughter Mary look after her children. She is a warm, loving, and protective grandmother to Sheldon, who calls her "Moon-pie" because he is "nummy-nummy, [and she] could just eat him up!".

While Meemaw was absent from Sheldon and Amy's wedding, this was due to time constraints and not because she had passed away. Showrunner Steve Holland explained that the episode was already very long and that they had to make hard decisions about what to cut. A phone call scene from Meemaw, explaining her absence due to her frailty, was ultimately cut from the episode.

The Big Bang Theory concluded with the good news that Meemaw was still alive and that her absence was due to writing and time constraints rather than a canonical accident or death.

The scene would have featured a phone call from Meemaw, explaining she was too frail to travel

The absence of Meemaw from Sheldon and Amy's wedding in The Big Bang Theory was a notable one, given how important she is to Sheldon. The reason for her absence was put down to time constraints, rather than a narrative decision. Showrunner Steve Holland revealed that a scene was written and recorded in which Meemaw called Sheldon to explain that she was too frail to travel to the wedding. In the scene, Meemaw would have explained that, being in her 90s, she was unable to make the journey. Holland described the cut as a "hard" one to make, acknowledging that it was a sweet moment and that fans would wonder about her absence. He also revealed that the creative team didn't want to confuse viewers by including two different actresses playing Meemaw, as Annie Potts plays the character in Young Sheldon, which was airing at the same time as The Big Bang Theory.

The scene was ultimately deemed unnecessary

The absence of Meemaw, Sheldon's grandmother, from his wedding to Amy in The Big Bang Theory was due to time constraints. Showrunner Steve Holland explained that the episode was already very long and that they had to make some difficult decisions about what to cut. He said:

> Unfortunately this episode came in very long and we had to start making hard decisions about what was serving the story and what we could lose. We had recorded a phone message from Mee-Maw explaining why she couldn’t be there (she is in her 90s after all), and sadly we had to cut it for time. It was a hard cut to make, not only because it was a sweet moment but also because I know people are going to wonder why Mee-Maw didn’t get mentioned.

Holland added that the creative team didn't want to confuse viewers by including two different versions of the character, as Annie Potts plays Meemaw in the prequel series Young Sheldon, which was airing at the same time as The Big Bang Theory.

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