Why Howard Wolowitz's Mom Sounds Different on New Sheldon

One of the most oddly specific sitcom tropes is the unseen character. They range from Neil Crane's (David Hyde Pierce) wife Maris in “Frasier” becomes increasingly physically impossible take the subject more gently, such as Wilson (Earl Hindman) in “Home Improvement.”

“The Big Bang Theory” is no exception to the presence of all pervasive tropes thanks to Howard Wolowitz's (Simon Helberg) unseen but much-heard mother, Debbie Wolowitz. An abrasive and imposing presence in Howard's life, Mrs. Wolowitz is nevertheless a force for good and an important figure to him and most of the show's other main characters.

Since the character is, for all intents and purposes, just a voice on “The Big Bang Theory,” fans may have noticed a noticeable difference in how she sounds on “Young Sheldon.” It's not because the actor who voices Mrs. Wolowitz on “The Big Bang Theory,” Carol Ann Suss, was asked to change the character's sound to reflect her younger age. The real reason is much more tragic, because Susi died in 2014. So Pamela Adlon voices Mrs. Wolowitz in the prequel series.

Of course, every character from “The Big Bang Theory” who appeared in the 1980s and 90s productions of “Young Sheldon” had to be remade to avoid the situation of 40-year-olds with eternal stubble playing for 13 years. the old ones. However, after Carol Ann Susi died in 2014 at the age of just 62, things were very, very different.

“The Big Bang Theory” never shows Howard's mother, however, due to Susi's departure, the show also never recast her. Instead, the people behind the series addressed the situation, touchingly sending off the character in season 8, as Debbie Wolowitz became one of the show's cast members. major character deaths. in a 2015 interview with The Hollywood ReporterShowrunner Steve Molaro spoke about the shock of Susi's death and how the show's creators came to the decision to address the issue in-universe with Ms. Wolowitz's death:

“It took a while for that devastation to settle before we could think about it. We couldn't bring ourselves to start thinking about it. Ultimately, the needs of the show (forced the issue) and we had to come up with a plan, and I don't think we could replace actors. That gave us two options: we send a character that felt false and fake into it and write it into the show, so we chose to do that.”

Also, the appearance of the character in the movie “Young Sheldon” can hardly be called a reworking. When a montage of The Big Bang Theory's characters as children in the Season 2 episode “A Swedish Science Thing and the Equation for Toast” required a cameo by Mrs. Wolowitz, Pamela Adlon simply stepped in to provide the necessary vocal work.