A spinoff from The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon is a single-camera comedy about Sheldon Cooper as a young boy, growing up with his family in Medford, Texas. The great cast really brings this spinoff to life. If you’ve noticed the resemblance of Zoe Perry, who plays Mary Cooper on Young Sheldon and Laurie Metcalf who plays the same character on The Big Bang Theory, it’s no coincidence. That is because Zoe Perry is actually Laurie Metcalf’s daughter.
Young Sheldon debuted in 2017 and ran for seven seasons. The finale aired on May 16, 2024. The show is set in the fictional East Texas town of Medford, but is filmed in Hollywood.
The Cooper House
If you are interested in seeing the Cooper House used for exterior shots, you are in luck. The house is real and located in North Hollywood at 5501 Morella Ave. Please remember this is a private residence, and to respect the property and the neighbourhood.
Medford High School
Another location that you can visit is Medford High School. The school is actually Van Nuys High School located at 6535 Cedros Ave in Van Nuys. You may also recognize this school from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This is an active high school, so please read my guidelines for respectfully visiting schools.
Medford Church
The church that the Cooper Family attends is filmed on location at the First Christian Church of North Hollywood. Scenes with Pastor Jeff and sunday morning mass are filmed here in the church. The church operates a nursery school so please treat it with the same respect you would treat a school. If you wish to see the inside of the church, you can find service times listed on their website: http://fccnh.org/
You may recognize the church from other productions, including 7th Heaven, Indiana Jones, The Fosters, and The Office, where Michael made a scene at Phyllis’s wedding.
Warner Bros. Studios
The interior sets of Young Sheldon are filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, on stages 12 and 23. Warner Bros. offers a great tour of their studios. Each tour includes a visit to a soundstage, but there is no guarantee as to which one. The guides need to pick a stage that is not in use, and the options vary by day and time. It is possible that Young Sheldon is one of the stages that you may visit.
East Texas Tech
The building used as Bower Hall, the dorm where Sheldon stays when attending East Texas Tech is located at Warner Bros Studios, where Young Sheldon is filmed. The show uses a building on the lots Midwest Street backlot.
The Warner Bros. Fountain
In the 6th season episode “A Frat Party, A Sleepover, and The Mother Of All Blisters”, Sheldon ends up at a college party with Paige and Missy. Once they leave, we see them talking at a fountain in a park. This particular fountain was located for years on the Warner Bros Ranch lot, where it appeared in many movies and TV shows. It is perhaps most recognizable for appearing in the opening credits of Friends. As the Ranch is slated to be demolished, Warner Bros. relocated the fountain to it’s main lot.
Meemaw’s House
One location that you unfortunately not be able to visit is Meemaw’s house. While Meemaw lives across the street from the Coopers, her house is actually located on the Warner Bros. Ranch, and is not open to the public. The house was also well known as being the Partridge Family house.
This photo is courtesy of ColumbiaRanch.net, which has an extensive history of the Columbia Ranch, more recently known as the Warner Bros. Ranch.
Sadly, the entire ranch was demolished in late 2023, as Warner Bros. didn’t feel like preserving the history of this and many other houses and locations that stood on the ranch. This is the reason Meemaw’s house was destroyed by a tornado at the end of season 6.
If you’d like to see some behind-the-scenes photos from the filming of the opening sequence, check out this page from Shine Studio.
If you have any questions or thoughts about Young Sheldon or the filming locations, please share with me in the comment section below.