Young Sheldon will join old Sheldon on HBO Max

Young Sheldon

Source: Bill Inoshita/CBS Young Sheldon rules terrestrial TV on CBS. But online, it'll stream exclusively on HBO Max. (Image credit: Bill Inoshita/CBS)

Television is a funny business sometimes. And this is one of those times. HBO Max today announced that it will be the exclusive digital home to Young Sheldon , the spinoff series from the extremely successful the Big Bang Theory. Both of those shows have been hits on CBS.

But CBS doesn't actually own Young Sheldon or The Big Bang Theory . Chuck Lorre Productions does, and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution distributes it. That's different from the Warner Bros. that's already a part of HBO Max, but you get the idea. Big Bang and Young Sheldon were free to distribute online where they wanted to.

And that, boys and girls, is how we end up here.

"We now feel like our Big Bang offering is complete," said Kevin Reilly, chief content officer for HBO Max, and president of TNT, TBS, and TruTV. "We are so proud to be the home of this beloved franchise and the place where new and existing fans can learn about young Sheldon Cooper's roots."

Big Bang — which ran for 279 episodes over 12 years — already is available on HBO Max. The press release didn't say when to expect Young Sheldon , which currently is the No. 1 comedy on network TV in total viewers, teens, and the 25-54 demographics. It averages more than 11.4 million viewers a week, according to Nielsen.

"In order for Sheldon Cooper to visit his younger self, he would need to manipulate spacetime. All you actually need is HBO Max," said Young Sheldon creators/executive producers Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro. "We are so pleased that Young Sheldon will once again be reunited with his future self on HBO Max, and we are excited for fans, new and old, to be able to binge both The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon for the first time."

HBO Max is home to the legacy HBO content, as well as new HBO Max originals. It's also the new streaming home for TNT, TBS, CNN, truTV, Studio Ghibli, DC Universe, and a selection of Turner Classic Movies.