Posted in: CBS, Fox, SYFY, TV | Tagged: Jerry O'Connell, Sliders, The Big Bang Theory

Jerry O'Connell on Sliders Reunion, TBBT Spinoff "Georgie & Mandy"

Jerry O'Connell (Star Trek: Lower Decks) on his Sliders reunion with John Rhys-Davies and TBBT spinoff "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage."

Jerry O'Connell has the kind of career most actors dream of. Not only did he emerge as a child star in his on-screen and breakout role as Vern Tessio in the 1986 classic Stand by Me, but he's also developed quite a successful run on film and TV, joining some of the biggest projects and franchises like My Secret Identity, Scream 2 (1997), Jerry Maguire (1996), before leading the Fox/SYFY sci-fi series Sliders as Quinn Malory, the brilliant prodigy who develops "sliding," a way to transport through alternate Earths taking his best friend Wade Wells (Sabrina Lloyd), his instructor Professor Maximillian Arturo (John Rhys-Davies), and a reluctant Motown signer Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown (Cleavant Derricks) as they try to find their way home.

After Fox canceled Sliders in 1997, SYFY picked up the Tracy Tormé and Robert K. Weiss series for its final two seasons, but unfortunately, O'Connell left before the fifth and final season, leaving Derricks as the lone original cast member to appear in every episode. O'Connell would move on across various TV, live-action, and animated voiceover roles, which includes a return on episodic television as Det Woody Hoyt on NBC shows Crossing Jordan and Las Vegas, CBS's The Defenders and The Big Bang Theory, and various roles in Warner Bros DC animated universe. While promoting the fifth and final season of the Mike McMahan animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks on Paramount+, O'Connell spoke with Bleeding Cool about whether there will be any Sliders reunion or related project in the future with Tormé's passing in 2024 and if he was approached to have any involvement with the latest The Big Bang Theory spinoff Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage.

Jerry O'Connell on Reuniting with 'Sliders' Co-Star John Rhys-Davies & Franchise's Future

Bleeding Cool: What's happening with 'Sliders'? Is there a reunion coming up at a con, perhaps an original project, or did Tracy Tormé's passing put that out the window?

On the 'Sliders' front, for those who don't know, I was in a television show called 'Sliders,' everyone in the 1990s, "Look it up! Good show!" I recently went to a con with my wife at a con in Orlando, and John Rhys-Davies, who played Professor Arturo, was also at the con. It was so fun to see him…I hadn't seen him. And 'Sliders,' man, that's not okay. I mean, he lives in New Zealand now. He did all 'The Lord of the Rings' movies, but man, I hadn't seen him since his last day on 'Sliders' [and] that's not okay. We caught up and went out to dinner. He's got all kinds of plans for a reunion and all that sort of stuff. I'm letting "The Professor" sort of take it from here. All the Sliders [cast] are on an email chain, and that's it. We're on an email chain, and we are talking.

O'Connell on 'The Big Bang Theory' Prequel Spinoff 'Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage'

O'Connell appeared in three episodes across seasons 11 and 12 of the Chuck Lorre series as George Cooper, Jr., the eldest Cooper sibling, who runs a tire shop. Introducing members of Sheldon Cooper's (Jim Parsons) family throughout the series would lead to the creation of the prequel series Young Sheldon from Lorre and Steven Molaro that chronicles the character's youth before becoming a college student at Cal Tech with Parsons serving as narrator and Iain Armitage in the title role. Montana Jordan took over the O'Connell role as Sheldon's older brother Georgie and remains in the role for Georgie and Mandy alongside Emily Osment, who also reprised her Young Sheldon role as Mandy. The Lorre, Molaro, and Steve Holland series returns to the more traditional sitcom setting with a studio audience like its predecessor TBBT, but unlike YS, drops the narrator.

Were you approached to possibly narrate 'Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage,' like the way Jim Parsons did for 'Young Sheldon?'

It's funny; I'm not a part of their new show. I love the fact that they have that new sitcom. I would love to be part of it, man. Maybe if they have a flash-forward, how funny would it be…they're so they're incredibly talented. I'm so happy about all their success. It's great, and I love the fact that 'The Big Bang [Theory]' world keeps up. It's like a superhero franchise, and they keep coming up with spin-offs. It's great, like Starfleet!

Star Trek: Lower Decks, which also stars Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Eugene Cordero, and Noël Wells, streams on Thursdays on Paramount+

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