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If there's one thing fans know about "The Big Bang Theory," it's that within the show's universe, the elevator in the gang's apartment building is broken. Let me clarify: even though only Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Penny (Kaley Cuoco), and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) — and eventually Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) — are the only main characters who live in this specific building for long periods of time throughout the series, their friends Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), and Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz (Melissa Rauch) hang out there all the time. What that means, practically, is that every time the whole gang heads over to Sheldon and Leonard's (later Leonard and Penny's) apartment, they have to climb several flights of stairs to get there. The elevator ends up getting a full repair at the very end of the series...

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After Mayim Bialik joins "The Big Bang Theory" in the show's third season as Amy Farrah Fowler, a neuroscientist who ends up romancing and marrying the prickly Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), it's legitimately hard to imagine the show without her presence. Here's something funny, though; in the show's very first season, "The Big Bang Theory" obliquely references the real Bialik, though it doesn't say her name.

In the season 1 episode "The Bat Jar Conjecture," Sheldon and his friends and fellow California Institute of Technology colleagues Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), and Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) are gearing up to participate in the university's annual Physics Bowl, but true to form, Sheldon makes all of his friends so irritated that they kick him off the team. (This is largely because Sheldon is convinced he doesn't even need teammates...

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In the penultimate episode of "The Big Bang Theory," titled "The Change Constant," everything changes for Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler — the married, science-minded couple played by Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik — when they found out they've won the Nobel Prize in physics for their shared work in super asymmetry. After seeing pictures of herself online that she doesn't like, Amy, aided by Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), gets a pretty modest and slightly modernized makeover ... but as it turns out, Bialik wasn't a big fan of this plotline.

In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," Bialik told the writer that she didn't know if Amy really needed a makeover, though she acknowledged that she benefited from it on a personal level. "This is a case where I don't...

Kaley Cuoco portrayed the role of the charming and lively Penny, the next-door neighbour of Leonard and Sheldon, whose entry in their lives leads to a series of unexpected changes. The series follows their evolving dynamics, where Penny eventually falls in love with and marries Leonard, who was also captivated the very moment he saw her.

However, long before the whole scenario unfolded in the sitcom, Cuoco had made a prediction that not just highlighted her understanding of her character but also her long-term vision for Penny’s arc, especially with Leonard.

Kaley Cuoco saw Penny and Leonard’s ending coming seasons in advance

The chemistry between Penny and Leonard was one of the driving forces of The Big Bang Theory from the very beginning. And it does play out in the show as the two get together eventually.

Penny and Leonard in The Big Bang Theory | Credit: CBS

And...

If you wanted an immersive awards voter experience — something like snapping a selfie with Oz Cobb’s gleaming purple Maserati from The Penguin or strolling the stately grounds of Pasadena’s grand Huntington Library before listening in on a chat with The Diplomat’s Keri Russell and Allison Janney, or perhaps cracking up as comedian Patton Oswalt hilariously peppering Tony Gilroy and the Andor cast with uber-nerdy questions — the 2025 FYC season had a little something for just about everyone.

Even with all the chatter about how tight-belted Hollywood’s TV networks and streamers must be right now, budgets for voter-influencing soirees featuring the stars and creators of the medium’s top series remained decidedly robust this spring, with a flurry of stunt-minded occasions designed to be memorable enough to linger in the mind as Emmy voters mark their ballots this week.

The vast majority of the events were built on...

Johnny Galecki’s journey on the sitcom The Big Bang Theory almost came to an abrupt end after Season 4, when the actor faced a serious health scare. The actor, who played Leonard Hofstadter throughout the show’s 12-season run, earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance.

However, the actor has revealed that around the time he received his nomination, he was considering leaving the show due to a health scare, until showrunner Chuck Lorre stepped in.

Johnny Galecki almost left The Big Bang Theory after four seasons

In Jessica Radloff’s The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, Johnny Galecki recalled an unexpected health scare that made him reconsider his future on the sitcom.

“I was at my sister’s house in Chicago and kept getting teary out of my right eye,” he recalled in the book,...

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In the 17th episode of the debut season of "The Big Bang Theory," something huge happens: Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), the nerdy roommate and best friend of Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), is brave enough to ask out their neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco), arguably the girl of Leonard's dreams. According to Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," this moment was a long time coming, even though it was relatively early in the show ... and audiences responded very, very well.

After the show took a hiatus following just a handful of episode due to the 2007-08 writers' strike (but returned as an even bigger sensation than before), creator Chuck Lorre said that the audience showed their love for the series in a big way while they filmed the aforementioned episode,...

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The pilot of "The Big Bang Theory" — the massively successful CBS sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady — went through a few iterations before it reached its final form, but the point I'm making here is that once everything clicked into place, the show found its way. After stars Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki appeared in the original, unaired pilot alongside actor Amanda Walsh, Prady and Lorre got some rough feedback and changed quite a lot, recasting Kaley Cuoco as the new female lead, Penny, and retooling everything. This, to put it lightly, worked ... and according to a book about the series by Jessica Radloff titled "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," one moment in the final pilot set the tone for the entire series (sort of).

As the pilot opens, Sheldon Cooper...

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For twelve years and the same number of seasons, Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady's CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" absolutely dominated pop culture, letting "nerds" take over the cultural zeitgeist. According to Prady, who spoke to Variety shortly after the series ended its massively popular run in 2019, he based the story on his own experience, as many writers are wont to do.

"'Big Bang' began as the story of me in my early 20s, when I was in the computer business in New York and failing at romantic relationships," Prady said at the time. "It's the story of that time in my life and I knew I'd get one shot to tell those stories. I don't think I get to come back and re-explore that time again. For me, [the finale] winds up the chance I had to...

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In the fourth-ever episode of "The Big Bang Theory," we meet Sheldon Cooper's (Jim Parsons) mother, Mary Cooper, who's played by Laurie Metcalf and provides a very strong contrast to her science-minded son. So, how did Metcalf even get involved with Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady's beloved CBS sitcom? According to Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," it all comes back to "Roseanne."

Both Chuck Lorre and one of his stars, Johnny Galecki — who plays Sheldon's best friend Leonard Hofstadter on "The Big Bang Theory" — worked on "Roseanne" in different capacities; Lorre wrote for the sitcom, while Galecki appeared as David Healy in a recurring role throughout its run. Lorre, as Radloff reveals, asked Galecki to reach out to Metcalf, and the rest, I suppose, is history.

The Big Bang Theory became the longest-running multi-camera sitcom by the time it concluded after a 12-season run on CBS. Surprisingly, part of the show’s long-term success can be attributed to the 2007–08 Writers’ Guild strike, which helped boost its visibility in its early days.

The showrunner and the cast later reflected on how the strike, which halted the entire industry for nearly three months, helped the sitcom gain traction despite having only a handful of episodes in the bag.

How did the 2007-08 Writers’ strike impact The Big Bang Theory

Soon after its premiere, The Big Bang Theory, along with the rest of the industry, faced an indefinite halt when the Writers Guild of America went on a strike. And while it brought much of Hollywood to a standstill, the CBS sitcom still managed to survive and even thrive.

The Big Bang Theory | Credit: CBS

At the time of the strike,...

The Big Bang Theory is still one of my favorite comedies around, and it's one of those that I consistently rewatch like Friends or Modern Family. What's great about it is that if you put on a random episode just to have something on, it works. Basically all of the characters had major milestones and character development - except for Raj.

In the "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Insider Story of the Epic Hit Series" book by Jessica Radloff, Raj actor Kunal Nayaar talked about his character's ending. As we saw over the course of 12 seasons, Raj eventually overcame his selective mutism, learned how to support himself without his wealthy father's money, and came to terms with self-love at the very end. Here's what the actor said in the book:

"I thought it was very astute that the one person who wanted love so badly realizes maybe he needs to love himself first.

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From November 2007 to February 2008, Hollywood's output came to a screeching halt over a Writers Guild of America strike, affecting both coastal factions of the creative guild ... and according to Jessica Radloff's book about "The Big Bang Theory," this strike was, somehow, a good thing for Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady's series.

As Radloff and the show's cast and crew tell us in her 2022 oral history "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," the strike happened just eight episodes into the show's very first season, but when productions shut down across California and New York, something interesting happened. Because the network had to show something to audiences during the strike, they just ... kept showing those first eight episodes.

"In my opinion, the strike was one of the most accidentally fortuitous things that could...

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Anyone who's even a little bit familiar with Sheldon Cooper, the main character of "The Big Bang Theory," played for 12 years and seasons by Jim Parsons, knows that he is very particular. (A less flattering term for the guy would probably be "absolute fussbudget.") That's why, in the show's 10th season, some fans might have been a little taken aback when Sheldon leaves the apartment he's always shared with his best friend Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) to live with his girlfriend Amy Farrah Fowler, played by Mayim Bialik (Amy and Sheldon go on to get engaged at the start of season 11 and marry in that season's finale). In doing so, Sheldon frees up the apartment for Leonard and his wife Penny Hofstadter (Kaley Cuoco) to finally share an abode without Sheldon.

According to Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive,...

Although most sitcoms end with the characters pairing off to live happily ever after, there's usually at least one member of the group who's still single. In "Friends," there was Joey (Matt LeBlanc), left alone presumably so he would be more interesting in his upcoming spinoff. In "How I Met Your Mother," there was Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), whose marriage controversially fell apart over the span of about three minutes' worth of screentime. (Fans still haven't forgiven the "Himym" writers for that.)

For "The Big Bang Theory," there was Raj (Kunal Nayyar). On a show filled with socially incompetent guys who still manage to convince a woman to marry them, Raj is the lone man out. It's an outcome some fans found disappointing. There's a long-running fan sentiment that the show never quite knew what to do with Raj (who wasn't even part of the show in its original pilot...

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Anyone who has even a passing familiarity with "The Big Bang Theory" knows that, until the end of the show's sixth season Raj Koothrappali, played by Kunal Nayyar, can't talk around women. This is chalked up to Raj's selective mutism, which manifests around women due to his utter anxiety ... though the show's writers did add a pretty questionable aspect to this trait in which he can talk to women if he's had a lot to drink. In any case, Raj's selectively mute streak came to an end in the season 6 finale "The Bon Voyage Reaction" after his breakup with Lucy (Kate Micucci), where he cries in Penny's (Kaley Cuoco) arms and talks to her freely and without alcohol for the first time. So how did this all come to pass? In her 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside...

Years after "The Big Bang Theory" wrapped up its 12-season run on CBS, the sitcom is as popular as ever ... and Jessica Radloff, who wrote a definitive book about the series, is running a recap podcast devoted to Chuck Lorre's massive hit. During the May 12 episode of "The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast," Radloff sat down with Kunal Nayyar, who ended up playing main character Raj Koothrappali after a near-miss, and the actor revealed that he constantly ruined takes by laughing at his co-stars.

"I was the worst in the beginning on the show," Nayyar told Radloff. "I broke all the time. It really pissed everyone off, but I couldn't help it. I don't know why." From there, though, Nayyar singled out one particular co-worker with whom he happened to share a whole lot of scenes: "Simon is a genius. You know what I mean?"

"Just the cadence in which [he said] 'Friday works for me,...

Before The Big Bang Theory launched him into stardom, Jim Parsons was a struggling actor, and his most awkward first date ended up being with the man he’d one day marry: Todd Spiewak. Picture this: an unemployed actor, a dinner laced with quiet judgment, and a vibe that screamed “this is going nowhere.”

Parsons has since spilled the beans about just how cringey that night was. But somehow, from that rough start came one of the most solid relationships in Hollywood. Proof that even the worst first impressions can lead to sitcom-worthy love stories.

Jim Parsons turned his cringiest date with Todd Spiewak into a love story Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory | Credits: CBS

Jim Parsons once tried to impress his now-husband, Todd Spiewak, with a gift, and it almost turned into the worst date of his life. Parsons recalled during a 2022 interview with Logo,

Very, very...

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In the spring of 2019, "The Big Bang Theory" came to a close after twelve seasons and as many years ... so where did all of the characters end up? In brief, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and his wife Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) share a Nobel Prize for their work in super-asymmetry, Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and his wife Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch) are married with two children, and Leonard and Penny Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco) are married and expecting a baby. Then there's Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), who, despite the fact that he's always looking for love, ends up alone.

In a piece in The Hollywood Reporter after the series finale of "The Big Bang Theory" — titled "The Stockholm Syndrome" as a nod to the city that's home to the Nobel ceremony — all of the lead performers were asked about the show's ending,...

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Everyone who's ever watched "The Big Bang Theory" knows that every time Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) enters a dwelling, he has to knock on the door exactly three times, sort of like a very particular vampire. But why does he do this, and how did the writers come up with it?

In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," some of the writers and performers who worked on "The Big Bang Theory" explained the origin of Sheldon's three-knock system, which boils down to this: it started as an innocuous thought by writer and producer Lee Aronsohn, who just thought it was funny, but in season 10 of the show, Sheldon tells Penny (Kaley Cuoco) the real reason behind the triple knock. As Sheldon reveals, he walked in on his father...

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Sheldon Cooper, one of the main characters on "The Big Bang Theory" who's played by Jim Parsons, is ... unique, to say the least. Some, including a few of his onscreen friends like Leonard and Penny Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco), might use a different word, like "difficult," "stubborn," or "impossible" (and those are just a few of the kind ones). Seriously, though — Sheldon has a decently kind heart underneath all of his intellectual superiority and bluster, though he doesn't show it very often, preferring to lambast his loved ones over their career choices, whether or not they have advanced degrees, and a whole host of other things. I say all of this to illustrate how absolutely wild it is that, apparently, Sheldon Cooper was inspired by a real person. (Also, his name was originally "Kenny," but that's another story for another time.

Let us just say it plain: this isn’t your run-of-the-mill ‘TV-show-ends-and-fans-cry’ sob story. No. This one’s layered, loaded, and full of emotional potholes. We’ve always believed fame’s got two faces: one that smiles for the camera and one that sighs behind the curtain. And when The Big Bang Theory clocked out after 12 robust seasons, everyone pointed fingers at one man: Jim Parsons.

People acted like he unplugged the life support on their favorite show. But that story has holes. Chuck Lorre, the show’s creator, even admitted he fumbled the ball by having Parsons break the news to the cast. The latter didn’t storm off. He honored his contract, showed up, did his job, and simply decided not to renew.

The unfair weight on Jim Parsons’ shoulders Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco in The Big Bang Theory | Credits: CBS

Jim Parsons wasn’t the villain...

Was Raj meant to stay single in the end of The Big Bang Theory? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

While The Big Bang Theory fans cheered for Leonard, Penny, Sheldon, and Amy, Raj stayed single, and not everyone was thrilled. But according to Kunal Nayyar, that ending was exactly how it needed to be.

In Jessica Radloff’s The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Insider Story Of The Epic Hit Series, Nayyar defended Raj’s lonely finale with some real heart. “I thought it was very astute that the one person who wanted love so badly realizes maybe he needs to love himself first. It doesn’t have to come through someone else, and that’s a very lovely way to end a character’s storyline,” he said (via Screenrant). Nayyar also pointed out Raj’s growth across the seasons, adding, “He grew so much in those last few seasons as a character,...

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"The Big Bang Theory" came to a close after 12 seasons and the same number of years in May of 2019, and just like that, stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Kaley Cuoco, Melissa Rauch, and Mayim Bialik — who played Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, Penny Hofstadter, Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, and Amy Farrah Fowler, respectively — were finished with the roles they'd inhabited for years. Ultimately, the story of "The Big Bang Theory" ends happily; Sheldon and Amy win a joint Nobel Prize in physics for their groundbreaking work in super-asymmetry, and despite a few speedbumps, all of Sheldon's friends go to Stockholm to support him during the ceremony. So, what did Parsons think of the finale?

In a post-finale feature in The Hollywood Reporter, all of the actors shared their reactions, and Parsons brought up something that...

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Filming a multi-camera sitcom with a live studio audience is probably pretty fun, and when it comes to Chuck Lorre's hit CBS series "The Big Bang Theory," the cast has been pretty clear over the years that one (very good) episode in season 7 was particularly delightful to film.

In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," main cast members Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar and Mayim Bialik — who played Sheldon Cooper, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, and Amy Farrah Fowler — fondly look back on filming the season 7 episode "The Scavenger Vortex," where Raj sets up a scavenger hunt for his friends and goes all out. So how did the episode even come into being?

Co-executive producer and writer Eric Kaplan explained that his brother did a lot of group scavenger hunts,...

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It's never easy to say goodbye to our favorite sitcoms, and it has to be pretty tough for the people who make them as well. After working long hours together for years, it all just comes to an end, and the creative families of cast and crew are scattered to the winds. 

On a series as long-running as "The Big Bang Theory," which went on for 12 seasons and just as many years, saying farewell really had to hurt, but it was made all the more painful because it was so sudden. The show was still wildly popular when it ended in 2019, which left many fans scratching their heads and wondering why it was over, but star Jim Parsons, who played neurotic nerdy genius Sheldon Cooper, had simply had enough.

When it came time to renegotiate new contracts for the show moving forward,...

In the fifth season of Chuck Lorre's hit CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," audiences are presented with a very familiar situation: Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and his girlfriend Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) are fighting. This time, it's because one of Amy's academic papers is going to be published in a scientific journal — Amy is a neuroscientist, which Sheldon often directly tells her isn't as impressive as his work in theoretical physics — and Sheldon isn't sufficiently excited, disappointing Amy. After getting advice from his friends Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Sheldon, accompanied by Penny, goes to a jewelry store to pick out a gift for Amy that he hopes will smooth things over. When he presents her with a tiara, Amy is so excited and so stunned that she basically forgets about her disappointment altogether.

According to Bialik, fans love talking to her about this episode,...

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"The Big Bang Theory" played host to a ton of guest stars and supporting players throughout its 12-year and 12-season run, including a whole bunch of "Star Trek" veterans and real-life scientific experts like Stephen Hawking and Bill Nye, just to name a few. To that end, there were also a handful of actors introduced as potential love interests for the main characters, one of whom, Leslie Winkle, was played by Sara Gilbert. But who, exactly, was Leslie, and why did she (and Gilbert) leave the show after its third season?

In Jessica Radloff's book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," which came out in 2022 and spilled a ton of secrets about the hit show, executive producer Steve Molaro and writer Lee Aronsohn both opened up about Leslie's short-lived time on the show,...

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Sometimes, actors like to riff on set or contribute lines to their projects, but according to Simon Helberg, who played Howard Wolowitz on "The Big Bang Theory" for the entirety of its run, he didn't typically craft any of his character's jokes. Why? The writing team, according to Helberg, was a finely-tuned machine, and he simply didn't think he should (or needed to) mess with its work.

While promoting his project "I Am I" — which Helberg produced and starred in alongside his wife Jocelyn Towne, who wrote and directed the independent film — Helberg spoke to Collider and revealed that he didn't mess around with the scripts of "The Big Bang Theory" if he could help it. When asked if he felt "confident" to contribute lines, Helberg was very blunt.

"It's not really about confidence," the actor responded. "It's just something...

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There are plenty of wild theories about "The Big Bang Theory" out there (which feels particularly bonkers when you consider that we're talking about a laugh-tracked multi-camera sitcom created by Chuck Lorre), but this one about Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, the waitress turned microbiologist with a crazy high voice who marries Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) during the series, is especially out of left field.

Over on the r/FanTheories subreddit, the appropriately named Redditor u/ConspirOC posited something pretty extreme about Bernadette. Titling the post "Bernadette is a clone," they were then careful to clarify, "Now the title mighty be slightly misleading [--] rather a series of clones and not just a single clone." The gist of the argument goes like this: Bernadette changes a lot over the course of the show, and thanks to her dangerous experiments at work — which she often...

When The Big Bang Theory first aired in 2007, few could have imagined the massive success it would achieve. Over the course of twelve seasons, the show became one of the most popular comedies on television, and its ending in 2019 left a lasting impact on fans. At the heart of the show was Sheldon Lee Cooper, played by Jim Parsons, whose quirky personality and genius mind made him both funny and unique.

Now, The Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre has shared some insight into why it took so long for Sheldon to get a romantic partner on the show, especially given how important love interests often are in sitcoms. Lorre recently opened up about this during the first episode of The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast, alongside former Warner Bros. Television Group chairman Peter Roth and podcast host Jessica Radloff.

Lorre admitted that, at the start of the show, he...

Casting "The Big Bang Theory" was probably pretty tricky, and it's hard to imagine the series suceeding without the main performers — specifically, Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch, and Amy Farrah Fowler, who play Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Penny Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, and Amy Farrah Fowler, in that order. The chemistry between all of these actors — and, by extension, their characters — is so great and feels so authentic that, without that X-factor, "The Big Bang Theory" may never have worked. So what was it like for them to audition together?

After the show ended after 12 seasons and the same number of years, the cast spoke to Entertainment Weekly about what it was like to make one of the biggest sitcoms of all time ... and in that interview, Parsons opened up about what it was like to audition alongside Galecki. Because...

One time, on "Happy Days," Henry Winkler's Arthur Fonzarelli jumped over a shark while waterskiing. During one episode of "How I Met Your Mother," Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders' characters Ted Mosby and Robin Scherbatsky start flying at the end of an episode. In "The Big Bang Theory," Howard Wolowitz, Simon Helberg's character (that he almost didn't audition for), goes to space at the end of the show's fifth season and spends a handful of episodes up there in season 6.

I should say that the situation on "The Big Bang Theory" isn't quite as ridiculous as either of those first examples, even though it sounds just as far-fetched as leaping over a shark's fin in midair. Also, to be absolutely fair here, the production staff of "The Big Bang Theory" went to extreme lengths to make Howard's journey to the International Space Station look legitimate. In a 2022 article on Space.com,...

Throughout "The Big Bang Theory," we're presented with three main romantic relationships. Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and his dream girl Penny (Kaley Cuoco) end in an up on-again, off-again relationship, and in season 3, wannabe lothario Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) finally meets his match in Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch), a waitress who eventually gets her PhD and becomes a successful microbiologist. Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) seems borderline allergic to romance in the early days of the series, but at the end of season 3, he meets Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), and the rest is history. Still, the show's friendships are also a huge part of the narrative; Leonard and Sheldon are best friends, Penny and Sheldon end up growing unexpectedly close, and Howard and Raj are thick as thieves.

In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," Helberg and Nayyar opened...

Fans of The Big Bang Theory will know that Kaley Cuoco's Penny was a very important part of the series since its very first episode, though looking back, co-creator Chuck Lorre feels that it took some time for the writers to really figure out how best to use the character for the show.

On March 17, The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast was launched, kicking off what will be a companion podcast for every episode of the hit sitcom. The first episode featured Lorre as a special guest alongside former Warner Bros. Television Group chairman Peter Roth, who joined host Jessica Radloff to discuss the original unaired pilot. One major difference with that pilot is that Cuoco hadn't yet been cast, with two other female characters featured with Johnny Galecki's Leonard Hofstadter and Jim Parsons' Sheldon Cooper. The plans were changed to have Penny replace the two women, and...

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At the start of "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon Cooper, the series protagonist played by Jim Parsons, is obviously and flatly averse to physical intimacy or relationships, remaining single while his friends Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) happily chase girls. In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," showrunner and creator Chuck Lorre revealed that he always intended for Sheldon to be asexual, but throughout the series' 12 years and seasons, that plan ended up shifting.

"Sheldon's passion was learning; understanding the secrets of the universe," Lorre explained. "That made him unlike any character I certainly had ever seen. He wasn't trying to find himself in a relationship; he was in a relationship, and it was with science." From there, though, Lorre clarified something specific: "I had,...

Throughout 12 years and seasons of "The Big Bang Theory," Simon Helberg, the actor who plays Howard Wolowitz, got to show off his considerable talents, from speaking multiple languages to celebrity impressions. So how did Helberg's vocal stylings make it into the show in the first place? In an interview with Vulture after the show's massively successful sixth season wrapped up, executive producer Steve Molaro spoke to the outlet about a handful of topics, including the romance between Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), the end of Raj Koothrappali's (Kunal Nayyar) selective mutism around women, and Howard's Cage impression from the season's penultimate episode "The Love Spell Potential."

According to Molaro, the crew behind "The Big Bang Theory" knew that Helberg was a dab hand at impressions, so they simply wrote that into the show. "We had heard him do Nicolas Cage and we always thought that was really funny,...

The Big Bang Theory had one of the best ensemble casts of any sitcom, in large part thanks to the relationship between the self-professed nerds and the beautiful young neighbor who moved in across the hall. This woman, Penny, was beautifully played by Kaley Cuoco. In fact, fans can’t imagine any other actor having captured the role in the same way. But she actually wasn’t originally supposed to play Penny.

There was another actor initially tapped to play a different lead female character, who was written to be quite different from how she turned out. Knowing more details about the story, it’s clear that The Big Bang Theory would not have worked in the same way it did, and become such a cultural phenomenon, if the original actor had been cast and Penny wasn’t part of the mix.

Who Was Initially Supposed to Play The Female Lead?...

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Out of all the lead characters on "The Big Bang Theory," Raj Koothrappali might be the most fascinating — in his own specific way. Played by Kunal Nayyar (who was actually nearly fired before booking the job that would go on to change his life), Raj is sweet, smart, and timid around women. In fact, the writers saddle him with a bizarre selective mutism trait for the early part of the show where he can't even speak around a pretty girl, but thankfully, that changes as the show continues. Something else that changes is Raj's style. Though his outfits remain colorful and eclectic, his hair changes things up a lot, and in Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," the author, Nayyar, and costume designer Mary T. Quigley break down Raj's surprising style evolution.

Once Howard Wolowitz, the main character played by Simon Helberg on "The Big Bang Theory," manages to grow up a little bit, he happily settles down with Bernadette Rostenkowski, a microbiologist played by Melissa Rauch. Before that, though, Howard and his friend Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) both date the same woman ... a fellow scientist who works with them at the California Institute of Technology named Leslie Winkle, played by Galecki's former "Roseanne" co-star Sara Gilbert. So what did Helberg think of his character's fling with Leslie?

In a 2011 interview with Smashing Interviews Magazine about the release of his independent film "I Am I," Helberg was asked about Howard's relationship with the distinctly voiced Bernadette and whether he thought the chemistry between the two characters was better than, say, Howard's connection with Leslie. As Helberg put it, Leslie was just a bit too blunt for the group — not just Howard and Leonard,...

Image Source: Warner Bros Hey Big Bang Theory Fans, This One’s for You! If you’ve been missing the lovable quirks of Leonard, Sheldon, Penny, and the rest of the crew, you’re in for a treat. It’s time to mark your calendars! On March 17th, The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast is launching, and it’s shaping up to be an absolute must-listen for fans. This isn’t just your average rewatch podcast. Instead, it’s a behind-the-scenes deep-dive into one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time. Jessica Radloff, who literally wrote the book on The Big Bang Theory (and it’s a bestseller at that), is your host. She’s bringing her insider perspective and love for the show straight to your ears. Each episode will give you a closer look at the show’s early seasons and explore how those hilarious and heartfelt...

Most actors would jump at the chance to star in a sitcom pilot, even if they don't know what that pilot's future holds — and according to a tell-all book about "The Big Bang Theory," one of that show's stars, Johnny Galecki, was so reluctant to join the show "about nerds" that he turned it down a whopping five times before finally agreeing to play experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter.

In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," everyone involved with the series ended up speaking to the author, and the story about how casting directors Nikki Valko and Ken Miller worked alongside creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady to get Galecki involved is a real doozy. After the pilot was written (by Prady and Lorre), Valko and Miller had to cast both Leonard and his best friend Sheldon Cooper; ultimately, Jim Parsons wound up playing Sheldon,...

The Big Bang Theory has long been over, but fans can soon relive the experience with the launch of an official tie-in podcast. On March 17, Max will debut The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast, a new podcast series offering a weekly deep dive into every single episode of the hit sitcom.

The Official Big Bang TheoryPodcast will be hosted by Jessica Radloff, the New York Times bestselling author of The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series. Starting with Seasons 1 and 2, the podcast will go through each episode with different cast and crew members from the series joining Radloff as special guests. Insiders who were there on the set will be able to share new secrets, offering insights on the decision-making and the creative process that brought The Big Bang Theory to life.

Guests will include director James Burrows as well as cast members Kunal Nayyar,...

“The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast,” in collaboration with Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, will debut March 17, Max announced Monday.

The show will be hosted by New York Times bestselling author Jessica Radloff and offer an exclusive episode-by-episode breakdown of the series. The podcast will start with seasons one and two and will feature interviews with the cast, crew and creators who were instrumental in bringing the beloved series to life.

“Fans will get to hear backstage secrets and previously unheard stories as well as learn about the creative process and decision-making that brought each episode to life through conversations with guests like director James Burrows and cast members Kunal Nayyar, Kevin Sussman and John Ross Bowie,” per the podcast’s logline.

The first episode will be an exclusive look at the unaired pilot with co-creator Chuck Lorre and former Warner Bros. Television chairman Peter Roth. Sara Gilbert, Christine Baranski, Vernee Watson,...

The Big Bang Theory is undeniably one of the most popular and beloved sitcoms of all time and one of the major sitcoms of its generation. And while the main series is over, we’ve seen several spin-offs that further expanded the lore of the beloved series. But now, it’s time to go back to the original!

And while the series is not coming back in the way that you might have wanted, Max is officially announcing a new podcast dedicated to the series that will feature an in-depth analysis of each episode and guest appearances by the series’ cast and crew!

The podcast in question will premiere on March 17, 2025, and will air on a weekly basis. The host? New York Times bestselling author Jessica Radloff! The podcast will officially be titled The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast and will be an unscripted series that will certainly excite fans.

Despite being such a huge hit at the time, Chuck Lorre’s The Big Bang Theory has not aged well, facing ongoing criticism for issues such as gender discrimination, casual racism, and homophobia, with Kunal Nayyar’s Raj often finding himself at the center of such jokes.

The Big Bang Theory | Credit: CBS

Raj’s journey in the show has divided fans. However, many fans of the show have been significantly content with his ending. Unlike his friends, who are all married and settled by the series finale, Raj remains single after calling off his marriage to Anu.

The circumstances leading to this decision, along with Raj choosing to embrace his own life rather than rushing into marriage out of desperation, have been warmly received by fans.

What happened with Raj at the end of The Big Bang Theory?

The Big Bang Theory introduced Raj alongside the original ensemble, making...

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When "The Big Bang Theory" first started in 2007, there were only five main cast members: Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter, Kunal Nayyar as Raj Koothrappali, Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz, and Kaley Cuoco as Penny. Over time, co-creator Chuck Lorre and his creative team wisely brought on some supporting players who eventually became regulars, including three important additions: Melissa Rauch as Bernadette Rostenkowski (who becomes Howard's love interest), Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler (who ultimately dates and marries Sheldon), and Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom. So, which one was only supposed to be a fleeting guest star? That would be Rauch's character Bernadette.

During an interview on "The Jennifer Hudson Show" in February 2023, Rauch, who stars in NBC's "Night Court" reboot, told the Oscar winner that she's still amazed by the experience and...

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It's hard to imagine, at this point, that anybody but Simon Helberg could have played Howard Wolowitz on "The Big Bang Theory." As one of the show's original five cast members alongside Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, and Kunal Nayyar, Helberg helped define Chuck Lorre's hit sitcom ... but not only was he not the first choice for Howard, but he almost passed on the role because he was on a show written and created by Aaron Sorkin, which ultimately failed. (Don't worry; it all worked out for everybody in the end.)

In a slideshow for The Hollywood Reporter chronicling the audition stories from "The Big Bang Theory," Helberg once admitted he almost skipped out on his audition to play Howard Wolowitz entirely. "I remember almost not going in because I was working on 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'...

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"The Big Bang Theory" ran for a really long time — 12 years and seasons with 279 episodes in all, to be really precise — so it seems a little hard to believe that the cast members have favorite episodes. Still, during an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2012, several of the main cast members — Johnny Galecki, Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, and Kaley Cuoco, who played Leonard Hofstadter, Amy Farrah Fowler, Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, and Penny — mentioned episodes they particularly loved, and Cuoco's pick was really sweet.

''My favorite episode will always be the Christmas episode when Penny gives Sheldon a napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy," Cuoco told the outlet, referencing Jim Parsons' main character Sheldon Cooper. "Sheldon is so overwhelmed with emotion he proceeds to hug Penny for the first time ever! I think Jim and I...

Was Kaley Cuoco anout to lose the role of Penny to a known actress? (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Kaley Cuoco may have been the perfect fit for Penny on ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ but the role almost went to someone else after she was initially rejected for the part, and several other Hollywood stars were in the running.

However, according to LADBible, this initial rejection might not have been as devastating as it seems, considering the character of Penny was originally written quite differently.

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The Original Penny Was Very Different

In the early stages, Penny wasn’t the upbeat and lovable character that all the show’s lovers know.