An admittedly bold suggestion here, given the fact that Mrs. Wolowitz’s death on “The Big Bang Theory” was a major event. The character was retired after her voice actress, Carol Ann Susi, died in 2014, so it might seem controversial to bring her back, let alone give her a spin-off show. Then again, Debbie Wolowitz does deserve redemption.
On “The Big Bang Theory,” Mrs. Wolowitz is an unseen character whose implied physical dimensions in her advanced age are a common subject of body-shaming jokes. She’s also generally portrayed as grating and domineering. Yet, she’s the closest thing to a reasonable parental figure the central group has. A “Young Sheldon”-style prequel with the focus on her would not only offer fun glimpses into Howard’s childhood (which may or may not be suspiciously similar to his adulthood), but also give Debbie Wolowitz some much-deserved focus — and hopefully exorcise some of the unreasonable weight bias associated with the character.
As to who could (let alone should) take over the role, there are two distinct candidates. If we’re going for a show set during Howard’s teenage years, the obvious choice would be Pamela Adlon, who already worked on Mrs. Wolowitz’s voice on “Young Sheldon.” If we’re taking things a touch further into Howard’s childhood, on the other hand, I’d just go ahead and cast Melissa Rauch. Though she already plays Bernadette on “The Big Bang Theory,” the character’s resemblance to a younger Mrs. Wolowitz is mentioned a number of times. What’s more, highlighting these comparisons by having the actual same actress play both roles would be a fantastic reference to Howard’s somewhat unhealthy relationship with his mother. It wouldn’t exactly hurt that Rauch can reportedly do an uncanny impersonation of Mrs. Wolowitz’s voice, either.