Young Sheldon star Emily Osment recalls requesting an intimacy coordinator during her time on the CBS series because of the age gap between her and co-star Montana Jordan. Osment, who played Mandy McAllister, was 30 when she joined the series in 2022, while Jordan, who played George Cooper, was 18.
Revealed in Jessica Radloff’s new book, Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy, which is a behind-the-scenes oral history of the series, Osment explained that while she and Jordan didn’t share sex scenes, she felt “uncomfortable” because of their age difference.
“That made me uncomfortable. He was a baby! A baby with a mullet,” Osment said. “So I spoke to Tim Marx, and obviously they were not able to get one that late in the day, but for the next few episodes they had one there, since the relationship between them escalates. It made everything easier having one there. I think it’s something that’s really important.”
“I don’t know if Montana even knew if he could ask for that. Like, let’s give him the option, too. Make him comfortable. And he’s such a sweet kid, I think he would just eat his discomfort,” she continued. “But I love those guys, and I’m really happy it got to the point where they were able to do that [for us].”
Elsewhere in the book, director Alex Reid acknowledged that production initially “dropped the ball” and overlooked having an intimacy coordinator, saying that the team’s decision was influenced by the show’s lack of sex scenes.
“I have a photo between takes of them sitting in that car when we shot that, and they’re looking off in other directions. I showed it to Emily and she said, ‘Yeah, that was so uncomfortable for both of us, because we didn’t know each other,’” Reid added. “It wasn’t even about the lack of an intimacy coordinator. It’s just you’re having to make out with somebody you just kind of met. Obviously they worked that out, and they have a great chemistry now, but that was kind of embarrassing.”
Now, Osment and Jordan star in the Young Sheldon spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, which is in its third season and airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.