TV Talk: ‘Young Sheldon’ signs off; new KDKA freelancer

PASADENA, Calif. – CBS’s “Young Sheldon” signs off tonight with its final two episodes at 8 and 8:30 p.m. on KDKA-TV, exploring the aftermath of the death of Sheldon’s father (Lance Barber) from a heart attack and then closing its run with a finale that brings back the adult Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and wife Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) in scenes set after “The Big Bang Theory,” which “Young Sheldon” is a prequel to.

Some “Young Sheldon” fans may object to the time devoted to Future Sheldon in the last episode, but those generally brief scenes depict a positive future that moves the show beyond the sadness of George’s death, which “Big Bang” fans knew would inevitably come.

That first half-hour proves the most moving as Young Sheldon (Iain Armitage) compares his father’s death to the demise of Spock in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and reimagines how Sheldon wishes his family’s final moments with his father had been less routine.

While the two episodes offer closure, they also feel a little rushed, as if “Young Sheldon” would have benefited from a few more episodes to ease the family’s grief over the death of their patriarch before sending Sheldon off to his “Big Bang” future.

New KDKA freelancer

Viewers will notice a new face on KDKA-TV in the weeks and months ahead. Barry Pintar has been hired as a freelance reporter.

He previously worked at TV stations in Huntington, W.Va., Columbus, Ohio, and Los Angeles.

Kept/canceled/spun off

Paramount+ with Showtime renewed “The Chi” for a seventh season and will bring back “Lioness” for season two.

Peacock renewed “Ted” for a second season.

Although envisioned as a one-and-done limited series, it’s now likely that FX will bring back “Shogun” for a second season.

Hallmark Channel renewed “When Calls the Heart” for a 12th season.

Amazon’s Prime Video renewed “The Boys” for a fifth season ahead of its fourth-season premiere June 13. Prime will also bring back “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” but without stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine.

Netflix renewed Australian drama “Heartbreak High” for a third and final season.

Roku Channel canceled “Chad” after airing its second season; Fox canceled animated comedy “Housebroken;” Hulu canceled “The Other Black Girl.” Apple TV+ canceled “Constellation” after a single season.

ABC canceled “Not Dead Yet” and ordered a reboot of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” with Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin hosting.

Tracy Morgan will star in a spinoff from CBS sitcom “The Neighborhood.” Morgan’s “Crutch” will stream on Paramount+.

Paramount+’s “NCIS” spinoff following Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (2000 Carnegie Mellon University grad Cote de Pablo) has a title: “NCIS: Tony & Ziva.”

Prime will launch a “Jeopardy!” spinoff, “Pop Culture Jeopardy!,” and ordered a “Legally Blonde” prequel series, “Elle,” set during Elle Woods’ high school days, and a series version of “Tomb Raider” from writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”).

Prime ordered a sequel to its “Road House” movie remake with Jake Gyllenhaal returning to star.

New premiere dates

“Dune: Part Two” streams May 21 on Max.

Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” will be back for its fourth season Aug. 27.

Season two of Prime’s “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” debuts Aug. 29.

Disney+’s “WandaVision” spinoff, “Agatha All Along,” streams Sept. 18.

Channel surfing

Netflix will stream two NFL games on Christmas Day this year and at least one game on Christmas Day in 2025 and 2026. This year’s games will include the Steelers at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. Christmas Day NFL games, like Amazon’s Thursday night games, will also air on local TV stations in the home markets of the teams playing, thought it’s not clear which Pittsburgh station will air the Steelers game locally. … WTAE-TV meteorologist Jeff Verszyla will be out on medical leave for the next few weeks while recuperating from surgery to repair a tear to his right hamstring. … Season four of former Netflix series “Babylon Berlin” will debut on niche streaming service MHz Choice on June 25. … In June Comedy Central will launch a new podcast, “The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart.” … A third “Downton Abbey” film is in production. … Roku Channel will stream Sunday leadoff MLB games for free beginning this weekend at 1:05 p.m. as the Red Sox play the Cardinals. … Another week, another streaming bundle: This time the “StreamSaver” will bundle Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+, available to Comcast internet, TV and mobile subscribers (pricing still TBD). …Prime’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” starring former Carnegie Mellon University student Lola Tung, returns in 2025 for an 11-episode third season.