Sheldon Cooper presented The Big Bang Theory fans with an intriguing mystery when he mentioned having exactly nine friends, but the even more curious question is how many of those friends might appear in Stuart’s upcoming spinoff. Out of four confirmed characters in the new Big Bang Theory spinoff, there aren’t many Sheldon would typically label as friends. And even though his character has undergone significant emotional development in the years leading up to the The Big Bang Theory finale, the mystery in question predates much of that growth by several seasons.