Young Sheldon follows nine year old Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage - Big Little Lies) as he navigates his way through his school and home life in East Texas. 

Although an adult Sheldon has found his feet as an exceptional physicist, his gifted younger self must cope with the struggle of living in a religious 'normal' family unit in a town where his peers are more focused on football than mathematics and science.

As a naive young Sheldon attempts to understand the world around him, his family must also find a way to deal with his own quirks and differences.

Young Sheldon showrunner Chuck Lorre told the RTS, “It’s a fish-out-of-water story, really. It’s about a brilliant, beautiful mind at nine years old in a family that doesn’t understand him."

"We’ve always avoided labelling Sheldon in the past," he continued. "The motivation behind the new series is very much about accepting him as he is because he’s not going to change.”

The thirteen-part series also stars Zoe Perry (Scandal) as Sheldon's mother Mary, and Lance Barber (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) as his father George Cooper Snr.

Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, is an executive producer on the series and lends his voice as the narrator, Adult Sheldon. 

The prequel accompanies its ongoing counterpart The Big Bang Theory on E4, which brings in an average audience of 2.4 million viewers an episode on the channel, making it the broadcaster's most popular show. 

Young Sheldon aired on 25 September 2017 in the US and will debut in the UK on E4 in 2018.