According to The Hollywood Reporter, Emily Osment (Hannah Montana, Spy Kids) recalls requesting an intimacy coordinator during the production of CBS’ Young Sheldon due to the age gap between her and co-star Montana Jordan (The Big Bang Theory, The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter). Osment played the character Mandy McAllister, who is a 30-year-old kid, while Jordan, who played George Cooper, was 18.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, revealed in Jessica Radloff’s new book, Young Sheldon: The Inside Story of the Hit Comedy, which covers many behind-the-scenes aspects 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 via The Hollywood Reporter. “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 via The Hollywood Reporter. “But I love those guys, and I’m really happy it got to the point where they were able to do that for us.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Alex Reid (The Descent, The Undeclared War) acknowledged, as stated in the book, that production initially “dropped the ball” and overlooked having an intimacy coordinator. He stated 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 via The Hollywood Reporter, ‘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.”
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage airs its third season on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.