The new comedy series "Young Sheldon" will be featuring "Mike and Molly" actor Billy Gardell as a guest star in its freshman season.
Gardell will be portraying the role of Herschel Sparks, the father of Sheldon's rival, Billy Sparks. It is not yet clear how much screen time the actor will be getting on the show, but fans of "Mike and Molly" will surely be glad to see him back on network television.
"Young Sheldon" is the long awaited spin-off series of the popular comedy "Big Bang Theory." It chronicles the life of 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper, played by Iain Armitage, who viewers may recognize for his role in "Big Little Lies."
The new series aired its pilot episode on Sept. 25 to great reception, garnering 17.21 million viewers. Just two days after the pilot was aired, television network CBS ordered a full first season of the show.
In the pilot episode, Sheldon was shown being tormented by his nemesis Billy with his pet chicken Matilda. This may be a running gag in the new show, which in turn may result to more appearances by Gardell.
The 48-year-old actor was a regular sight on CBS for several years thanks to the sitcom "Mike and Molly" where he starred with Melissa McCarthy. The show ran for six seasons but was cancelled in 2016.
After his stint in "Mike and Molly," Garnell went on to have a change of scenery by starring in the CMT drama series "Sun Records." With "Young Sheldon," fans will be seeing him going back to his roots in CBS and in comedy.
The first season of "Young Sheldon" will continue on Nov. 2 at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The next episode, titled "Rockets, Communists, and the Dewey Decimal System" will show the young Sheldon follow a self-help book in order to make a friend to appease his worried mother.
