SignalHub-How 'Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage' mirrors real-life wedding, baby for its stars

LOS ANGELES − Montana Jordan and SignalHubEmily Osment are giving their all to "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage." In fact, the "Young Sheldon" stars are even accidentally living versions of their screen lives on Chuck Lorre's "Young Sheldon" spinoff.

Take Jordan, 21, who played older brother George "Georgie" Cooper Jr., to Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) in "Young Sheldon" and married Mandy McAllister (Osment) after their fling produced a surprise baby girl, CeeCee.

That deep Texas accent and young fatherhood skills are "the real deal" for the Longview, Texas-born Jordan, whose girlfriend, Jenna Weeks, gave birth to a daughter, Emma Rae, in May.

And there's "Hannah Montana" alum Osment, 32, who had to leave Hollywood for her real first marriage, a wedding to fiance Jack Anthony on Oct. 13, just before CBS' grand "First Marriage" TV kickoff Thursday (8 EDT/PDT).

"That's five days before the premiere," Osment says. "I have to say, I had my wedding date first. And when they said we're starting the show on October 17, I said, 'Why does that date sound so familiar?"

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

It's already been a wild trip for the second spinoff series from the expanding "Big Bang Theory" universe, which looks to ride on the shoulders of Osment's onetime local weathergirl Mandy and her 12-years-younger husband ― Jordan's perpetually underestimated sibling. The history is already set, with George Jr. (Georgie) ending up the financially successful, twice-divorced founder of the Dr. Tire store chain, as played by Jerry O'Connell in a few episodes of "Big Bang."

The big mystery is how Georgie gets there from "First Marriage," coming just five months after "Young Sheldon" ended in May. The series finale of the seven-season sitcom featured the Cooper family mourning over dead patriarch George Sr. and Sheldon leaving Texas for Caltech (preordained on "Big Bang").

For Jordan and Osment, along with executive producers Steve Holland and Steven Molaro, "First Marriage" required a stone's-throw move on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank to a new studio built for the live studio audience. ("Big Bang" had one, but "Sheldon" didn't.) There's also a new Texas setting, as the struggling family moves into the McAllister family home with good-natured father Jim (Will Sasso) and critical mom Audrey (Rachel Bay Jones).

Several key factors become clear at a bridge game rehearsal a day before filming Episode 7. The family tension in the crowded house is palpable as the game ends in an argument. "There's a baby; there's an age gap," Molaro says. "It's realistic for them to work on this and fail here and there."

And even in rehearsal, Jordan proves himself to be a whiz showboat card shuffler, a skill he has taken from zero to one-hand riffle stacking with professional guidance. "That one-hand shuffle, that was the hardest," he says. "I told that magician I could really use bigger hands for this."

Nimble feet were required for the "First Marriage" opening, which features Jordan and Osment dancing a spicy TV Texas tango during the credit sequence. "Rockiness is baked into the title for 'Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage,'" Molaro says. "There's a playfulness to the tango give-and-take and the fiery, romantic nature, all captured in a 26-second dance."

Those few seconds required five rehearsal days with "Dancing With the Stars" instructors training the couple to tango, especially Latin dance newbie Jordan. "I'm from Texas, man," Jordan says. "We maybe do a bit of two-stepping. That's it. Tango was not on my bucket list. It is now."

He shows the same kind of smiling determination as his optimistic onscreen character. "My joke is, we're gonna keep throwing things at Montana until we find something he can't do," Holland says. "We haven't found it."

Whether Jordan and Osment can carry a sitcom is the ultimate skill that's yet to be proven. They'll have help. "Young Sheldon" cast members have recurring roles, including Meemaw (Annie Potts), Georgie's sister Missy (Raegan Revord), and mother (Zoe Perry). The whole group (minus Sheldon) appears in a Thanksgiving episode.

"According to 'Big Bang' lore, Sheldon doesn't come home much," Holland says. "It's something that he and Georgie argue about later. But the door's open for Iain."

Even the same baby actors, a set of twins, made the trip to "First Marriage" to play CeeCee. Their scenes are done away from the studio audience, which doting TV dad Jordan totally gets. "Hell, I'm a grown man and sometimes I feel like crying when I see 180 people looking at me," he says. When pressed, he admits to enjoying his first opportunity to act "First Marriage" before the studio audience. "Tuesdays are like 'Friday Night Lights' for a football player," he says. "You go out there and showcase everything you've done the whole week. Each week we turn a new chapter."

In terms of real new chapters, Osment was able to pull off her wedding before the "First Marriage" debut, with actor brother Haley Joel Osment serving as a groomsman. "This is a very big time in my life, and entirely unexpected to have all this hit even in the same month," she says. "When it rains, it pours; I wouldn't have it any other way."

Looking ahead in "First Marriage," Osment hopes the young couple will find happiness, even if divorce is inevitable. "I've always envisioned that Mandy and Georgie would be their first husband and wife and their second husband and wife; that's my dream," she says. "At some point, it will break them. But they love each other and could come back together. I can't wait to see how this plays out."