Where Was Young Sheldon Filmed And What Sets Were Used?

I get a bit nerdy about production details, so here's the behind-the-scenes take on where 'Young Sheldon' gets filmed and what the sets are like. The series primarily films on studio soundstages in Los Angeles where the crew constructs multiple permanent sets — the Cooper house being the centerpiece. Those stages allow for controlled lighting, removable walls, and the multi-angle coverage single-camera productions need. Unlike a multi-camera sitcom shot in front of a live audience, 'Young Sheldon' is shot more cinematically, so the sets are built to be walked through and shot from many vantage points.

The design team deliberately creates layered, lived-in spaces: Sheldon's bedroom is packed with books, model rockets, and science paraphernalia to show early genius; the kitchen and dining areas are staged for family dynamics with authentic late-'80s fixtures; the high school and church sets include lockers, bulletin boards, and pews that feel real under camera. For exterior authenticity, production blends dressed studio backlots with on-location shots that capture small-town signage and streets. Occasionally, real houses or storefronts are used for walking-around-camera scenes. There are also careful touches — period cars, local business facades, and era-appropriate packaging — that make the world cohesive. I always notice how those small production choices make the story land emotionally, and it makes watching feel extra rewarding.

I love talking about the little craft that turns a script into a place you can believe in, and 'Young Sheldon' is a great example. The bulk of the filming is done on stages in Los Angeles where they build the Cooper home, Sheldon's bedroom, the school sets, and church interiors with a lot of period detail. They use removable walls and practical lighting to shoot scenes from lots of angles, which gives the show a cozy, cinematic feel rather than the flat look of an audience-shot sitcom.

For outdoor scenes, the production mixes backlot streets dressed as 'Medford' with real exteriors that have that East Texas vibe, so you get a believable small-town look even though most of the crew and soundstages are in California. Props and set dressing lean heavily into late '80s and early '90s staples — think VCRs, old phone sets, and stacks of encyclopedias — which is my favorite bit because it makes every shot readable and warm. It always makes me want to pause and study the background; there's usually a tiny detail that cracks me up or tugs at nostalgia.

Walking onto the Warner Bros. lot and seeing the 'Young Sheldon' signage felt surreal the first time I toured it — the show really lives in Los Angeles even though it's set in small-town Texas. Most of the interior shooting for 'Young Sheldon' happens on soundstages at major L.A. studios (the production builds the Cooper family home, Sheldon's bedroom, the kitchen and living room, the church, and the school interiors as full, detailed sets). The art department went all-in to recreate late '80s/early '90s Texas: wallpaper, rotary phones, vintage calculators, and period-accurate toys crowd Sheldon's room, while the Cooper kitchen is constructed with removable walls so cameras can swoop around for those intimate family moments.

Exteriors are a mix: the crew dresses up California neighborhoods and backlot streets to pass for 'Medford,' and sometimes actual location shoots give the show more authenticity when a scene demands a real house or a roadside diner. The school corridors and church pews you see on screen are typically on stage, but establishing shots — little storefronts, a church steeple silhouette — are often filmed on real streets either in California or occasionally in Texas-style small towns. Production also borrows the occasional prop or Easter egg that nods to 'The Big Bang Theory' without directly reusing that show's apartment set.

What I love about the sets is how lovingly they're made: Sheldon's chalkboard scrawlings, Meemaw's eclectic living space, and the tiny science experiment clutter all sell the world. It feels like stepping into a nostalgic family photo, and I always leave thinking about details I missed before.