Since The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon each premiered, fans of those shows have dealt with a lot of annoyances. After all, they've seen Bert Kreischer insult TBBT to Kaley Cuoco's face, Joe Rogan complain about TBBT's success, and Joe tell Macaulay Culkin he's lucky he turned the franchise down. However, while it makes sense for observers to be upset that TBBT traumatized a former teen star, that show and Young Sheldon have brought a lot of joy to people's lives.

Fortunately, fans of the franchise still have things to be excited about. For example, it is fascinating for fans to learn about Craig Ferguson's unofficial TBBT cameo, Johnny Galecki dating Sheldon's mom on another show, and Jim Parson's favorite guest star. Most importantly, The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon fans should be excited that an episode of The Conners felt like a crossover between those two shows.

The Conners' Season 7 Premiere Had A Huge Moment For Young Sheldon And The Big Bang Theory Fans

When it was announced that The Big Bang Theory was going to have a spin-off based around Sheldon Cooper's family, many fans raised their eyebrows. After all, a lot of spin-offs turn out to be terrible, and it is easy to imagine how a show focused on Sheldon's family could be too much.

However, the thing that many people didn't expect was that Young Sheldon would arguably become a better show than The Big Bang Theory. One of the main reasons why that argument can be made is how wonderful Zoe Perry was as Mary Cooper during Young Sheldon's seven seasons.

When it was announced that Zoe would appear in The Conners' seventh season premiere, it was a huge deal since she is clearly so talented. However, the thing that some observers may not have realized was that Zoe's The Conners' appearance created a Young Sheldon and The Big Bang Theory crossover of sorts.

During the seventh season premiere of The Conners, Zoe portrayed a police officer who talked with Laurie Metcalf's Jackie Harris-Goldufski.

Zoe and Laurie sharing a scene on The Conners was a huge deal for two main reasons. First off, some fans don't realize it, but Laurie Metcalf is the real-life mother of Zoe Perry. Zoe is the daughter of Laurie and her first husband, Jeff Perry, who she was married to from 1983 until 1986.

Secondly, and most excitedly for fans of The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, Laurie and Zoe played different versions of the same character on the two shows.

After Zoe Perry began starring in Young Sheldon, she won acclaim for her performance on the hit show. For example, Zoe Perry was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Awards' Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series award, as revealed by an Entertainment Weekly article.

According to IMDb, Laurie portrayed Mary Cooper during 14 episodes of The Big Bang Theory between 2007 and 2018. Then, Zoe took over the role and starred in 141 episodes of Young Sheldon as Mary Cooper. According to IMDb, Zoe has also played Mary Cooper in three episodes of Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage as of March 2025.

After Zoe and Laurie both did a great job of bringing Mary Cooper to life and making the character their own, many fans of the franchise compared their portrayals. However, there was never a chance to see their two versions of the character together.

Before Zoe Perry appeared on The Conners, the mother-and-daughter acting duo had performed together before. As a January 2014 Playbill article shows, Zoe and Laurie performed on Broadway together in a play called "The Other Place."

As a result, The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon fans getting to see Laurie and Zoe share the screen is a big deal. It is especially great because Zoe did a great job portraying a cop who didn't take Laurie's The Conners character seriously.

Laurie Metcalf Once Joked About An Actual The Big Bang Theory And Young Sheldon Crossover With Her Daughter Zoe Perry

When it was announced that Zoe Perry was taking over the role that had been played by her mother, there was a lot of interest in that from fans. As a result, it only makes sense that both actors would be asked about that unique situation.

In April 2024, Laurie spoke to Collider's Perri Nemiroff at Calgary Expo as the final season of Young Sheldon was airing. During that conversation, Laurie joked about having a Mary Cooper "face-off" with Zoe and letting fans vote for whose performance was better.

Maybe we should have a Mary Cooper face-off, and people could [vote] who's the better Mary Cooper.

Of course, since they played the same character, it may seem confusing that Laurie would suggest she and Zoe could both play Mary in the same scene.

While talking to Collider, Laurie suggested how it might be possible for her and Zoe to both play Mary Cooper in the same scene.

I guess it would have to be a flashback? I mean, we're the same person.

Even though Young Sheldon is now over, it does still seem possible that Laurie's suggested face-off could happen.

So far, Zoe's version of Mary Cooper has been a recurring character on Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage.

It certainly seems possible that Zoe and Laurie could both appear as Mary Cooper in an episode of Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage. Zoe's version of the character could have a dream about her future and Laurie could bring that to life in the same scene.

While Zoe hasn't commented on her mom's face-off suggestion, she has spoken about landing the role her mom had previously played. In December 2017, Zoe told The Hollywood Reporter that her mom told her she had to audition to play the younger version of Mary Cooper.

My mom said, 'You better go in for this.' It was an exciting and surreal turn of events.

Zoe went on to say that her mom had been completely supportive of her since she took on the role. "She’s too good and empathetic an actor to give another actor any notes! She’s been really supportive through the whole thing and I feel lucky that I get to share this with her in that way. At the end of the day, she’s a parent and she’s happy to see that her kids are OK."