Sheldon Cooper has officially left our screens for the first time in 17 years

Now that the Young Sheldon finale has aired, Sheldon Cooper has left our screens for the first time in 17 years, and fans can’t believe it.

With the Young Sheldon Season 7 finale wrapping up the prequel for good, Sheldon Cooper’s life is taking a hiatus from TV after being introduced in The Big Bang Theory back in 2007.

The main series aired from 2007-2019, with the prequel beginning in 2017. While fans were pleased to see original Sheldon Jim Parsons return for a cameo — alongside wife Amy (Mayim Bialik) — they’ve been left reeling over his sudden absence.

CBS

“For the first time in 17 years, the world will be without Sheldon,” one fan posted on Reddit. “End of an era,” a second fan weighed in, with a third agreeing, “As someone who was born a couple of days after the BBT premiere this really hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve loved TBBT for as long as I can remember and I’ve been watching Young Sheldon since the pilot. Damn, this is rough!”

It remains to be seen whether Sheldon will appear in the Georgie and Mandy spinoff, which starts filming in July. Returning to the original TBBT multicam format, some of the Young Sheldon cast, such as Raegan Revord, have already confirmed that they won’t be seen in future episodes.

Another fan disagreed, “True but I bet he will be mentioned in the George Jr show. No doubt about it,” with a fifth joking, “Especially since Georgie’s show is part of the new ‘Sheldonverse’ which also includes ‘Female Sheldon’ and ‘Dark Sheldon Rises’ all culminating in ‘Sheldonpoint.'”

Regardless, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage will mark the first time a Sheldonverse story isn’t told from Sheldon’s perspective. Specific details remain unclear, but the show will follow “Georgie and Mandy raising their young family in Texas while navigating the challenges of adulthood, parenting, and marriage.”

In Young Sheldon Season 7 Episode 14, both versions of Sheldon crossed paths while he said goodbye to his Medford family home before starting his journey at Caltech. Parsons was brought back to confirm that the prequel existed as a way of Sheldon recounting his childhood for his memoir, with his wife Amy making him realize the similarities between him and his father.

You can check our breakdown of Young Sheldon’s actual ending, as well as details about Georgie and Mandy’s spinoff, and other binge-worthy TV shows to add to your list.