Netflix & Max to share ‘Young Sheldon’ in US as Warner Bros. Discovery loosens rights grip

Young Sheldon

Netflix has picked up rights to former Max exclusive Young Sheldon in the US, underlining the growing flexibility being shown by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to third-party deals.

WBD chief David Zaslav has spoken consistently of increasing distribution and reducing exclusive rights to shows on Max as the US studio looks to increase profits from third-party deals.

That approach has already seen shows such as Band Of Brothers and Insecure appearing on Netflix and Max on non-exclusive terms, with the Warner Bros. TV-produced Young Sheldon now following suit with a debut on the streamer slated for 24 November.

Context of Netflix’s deal for Young Sheldon

The pick-up by Netflix comes three years since Max (then HBO Max) took exclusive rights to Young Sheldon and mothership The Big Bang Theory.

The franchise has been positioned as a key offering for the WBD streamer, which unveiled a third Big Bang spin-off earlier this year that is being created exclusively for its service.

And while Max is sharing rights to Young Sheldon, it retains exclusivity to Big Bang Theory in the US.

The move comes less than a week since US network CBS confirmed it would be bringing the curtain down on Young Sheldon after seven seasons.

The show, which received a three-season commission in 2021, charts the formative years of The Big Bang Theory’s character Sheldon during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

It launched in 2017 and stars Iain Armitage as the young Sheldon Cooper, who was portrayed by Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory, with Parsons narrating the show and serving as exec producer.

Show creators Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro exec produced alongside Parsons and Todd Spiewak for Chuck Lorre Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television.