'Young Sheldon' star Annie Potts has blasted CBS for axing the show, claiming: "It just seemed like such a stupid business move."
The 71-year-old actress - who plays Connie "MeeMaw" Tucker in the 'Big Bang Theory' prequel - was left "shocked" when she heard the programme, which ends on May 16th, was being shelved after seven seasons, and she admitted the cast were "totally ambushed" by the move.
She told Variety: "This one was especially hard because I was completely unprepared. I was shocked. I mean, the No. 1 show on network TV, No. 1 on Netflix.
"We’re, I think, all that people watch on TikTok besides a couple of recipes for pasta.
"It just seemed like such a stupid business move. Forgive me, but I don’t know. If a show is starting to drag or lag or have a lack of stories or whatever, then you kind of see it coming. We were totally ambushed by this. I was, anyway.
"I still don’t understand why they cancelled it."
Annie - voiced who Bo Peep in the first, second and fourth films of the 'Toy Story' franchise - says there will now be a "grievous hole" in her life, after filming on 'Young Sheldon' wrapped for good recently.
She added: "It’s been really, really, really emotional.
"I mean, it’s been half of Ian’s [Armitage, who plays Sheldon Lee Cooper] life, and it’s been a 10th of mine, but at 70, that feels significant.
"And, you know, it’s a little village that we have, and we’ve all taken care of each other and raised each other up.
"There will be a grievous hole in my life. There’s no question about it. It’ll get easier. Grief does, loss does."
Young Sheldon's end was confirmed in November, with executive producers Steve Holland, Steven Molaro and Chuck Lorre saying in a joint statement: "Being able to tell the origin of Sheldon Cooper, and expanding the story to include the entire Cooper family has been a wonderful experience.
"We are grateful to our fans for embracing this chapter of the Coopers these past six seasons, and on behalf of the entire 'Young Sheldon' family, we’re excited to share this final season with you."