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Throughout its 12 seasons, The Big Bang Theory often highlighted the issues between Kaley Cuoco’s Penny and Johnny Galecki’s Leonard, as both dealt with insecurities during their initial time together. Moreover, from the latter’s borderline creepiness toward the former in the earlier seasons to Penny’s uncertainty regarding her feelings toward Leonard, the couple’s compatibility was often called into question among fans.

The Big Bang Theory | Credit: CBS

But despite their less-than-thrilling moments, which contributed to the growing skepticism regarding the show’s leading love story, certain moments in the show do explain why they were indeed perfect together.

Penny and Leonard made each other whole

One of the episodes that gave fans major ick regarding Leonard was The Boyfriend Complexity, as his creepiness was heightened up to eleven during their fake act of being together. But like most of the cast, he does evolve as a person as the show continues,...

"The Big Bang Theory" not only ran for an impressive 12 seasons, but it seems like the sitcom is spawning a pretty impressive franchise. The prequel spin-off "Young Sheldon" ended after seven seasons and could easily have run longer if it wasn't for the fact that its story reached a natural conclusion when Sheldon Cooper left his childhood home for Caltech. The most recent member of "The Big Bang Theory" family is the "Young Sheldon" spin-off "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage," which focuses on Sheldon's older brother Georgie Cooper (Montana Jordan) and his wife, Mandy McAllister (Emily Osment). 

Had Johnny Galecki (who plays Leonard Hofstadter in the mothership show) given in to one of his more peculiar ideas and decided to push it to CBS and "The Big Bang Theory" mastermind Chuck Lorre, there might actually be more than three shows in the franchise. As Galecki described his peculiar spin-off vision...

The long-running Chuck Lorre sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" is a series about a group of super nerdy friends trying to survive adulthood despite the fact that adulthood really isn't kind to nerds, and one episode in particular is a love letter to a specific corner of nerd-dom. The season 9 episode "The Spock Resonance" is one of the most important in the series because it highlights just how much "Star Trek" can mean to its fans. Indeed, it's a celebration of fandom and the people who love these stories so much that they make them part of their lives, like Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). 

Sheldon is, of course, an awkward adult who has a tough time with relationships when the show starts, but he grows over time and eventually even gets married to a brilliant scientist in the form of Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik). In fact, it's in "The...

Take any popular sitcom from the mid-’90s to the 2010s (barring say F.R.I.E.N.D.S), chances are it is co-created with Chuck Lorre. The popular showrunner is known as the King of Sitcoms due to his track record with the genre. He has been the brains behind successful shows like Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The Kominsky Method, and more.

However, the sitcom format seems to be dying as streamers and TV networks prefer more scripted and single-camera comedies over long-running sitcoms. Some of the popular comedies in the streaming era have been capped at a max of five seasons, unlike network TV’s traditional model. The dearth of sitcoms has definitely rattled the King.

Chuck Lorre was afraid he was in a dying industry as sitcoms reduced A still from The Big Bang Theory | Credits: CBS

Chuck Lorre has been...

The new musical Buena Vista Social Club is now open on Broadway and a star-studded group of celebs attended the special performance!

Lupita Nyong’o, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Eva Longoria, Ariana DeBose, and so many more attended the opening event on Wednesday (March 19) at the Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City.

Inspired by true events, the new Broadway musical brings the Grammy Award-winning album Buena Vista Social Club to thrilling life—and tells the story of the legends who lived it. A world-class Afro-Cuban band is joined by a sensational cast in this unforgettable tale of survival, second chances, and the extraordinary power of music.

Lin‘s father Luis Miranda is one of the show’s producers, alongside Orin Wolf, John Styles, and Tony winners Lachanze and John Leguizamo, who were all at the opening.

Lupita was at the event to support her childhood friend Saheem Ali, who is the director of the new musical.

The Big Bang Theory's upcoming spinoff gets an official title, which effectively confirms the show's official lead character. Despite the ongoing success of Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, Chuck Lorre is also pumping the gas in the development of the third spinoff in his comedy franchise that would take place years after the end of The Big Bang Theory. Reteaming with Bill Prady for the new show, the project will see the return of some familiar faces from the nerd-centric sitcom, as they become the new faces of the endeavor now that the story of the Pasadena gang is done.

Per Deadline, Lorre and Prady's The Big Bang Theory spinoff sequel is officially called Stuart Fails To Save The Universe. This confirms that Kevin Sussman's awkward but lovable comic book shop owner will be the face of the new comedy. Joining him is Lauren Lapkus, as Denise, Stuart's girlfriend,...

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...

Want to hear something wild? The guy who sings "Mighty Little Man," the theme song for "Young Sheldon" — the first major spin-off of "The Big Bang Theory" that stars Iain Armitage as a young version of Jim Parsons' grown-up genius — also appears on the show, and he's the guy from "Blue's Clues."

That's a lot of information I just threw at you, so let's back up. "Young Sheldon," which ran from 2017 to 2024 and was created by original "Big Bang Theory" head honcho Chuck Lorre and another veteran of the original sitcom, Steve Molaro, opens each episode with a song called "Mighty Little Man" with lyrics like, "I am a mighty little man / Nobody else is stronger than I am / Yesterday I moved a mountain / I bet I could be your hero / I am a mighty little man." As it turns out, this song is an original creation by Steve Burns,...

When The Big Bang Theory premiered in 2007, few could have envisioned how successful the show would go on to become. After twelve seasons and hundreds of episodes, the show ended in 2019. Central to the story was the genius mind of Sheldon Lee Cooper (Jim Parsons) and the character's ability to perfectly blend humor and science. The Big Bang Theory has since gone on to become an Emmy-nominated series, and creator, Chuck Lorre, has recently opened up about why he resisted giving Parsons’ Sheldon a love interest for so long in the series.

The first spin-off of "The Big Bang Theory" that, by all accounts, isn't a prequel is starting to take shape. "Stuart Fails To Save The Universe," which got a title announcement on Wednesday, March 19, will eventually flesh out the ever-expanding universe of "The Big Bang Theory," which already saw a spin-off in "Young Sheldon".

To be honest, there's still a lot we don't know about "Stuart Fails To Save The Universe." There aren't, as of this writing, any major plot specifics floating around, and outside of a few "Big Bang Theory" cast members returning to their roles for this new project, we don't know who else will be joining the party. Still, let's forge ahead with what we do know, including where "Stuart Fails To Save The Universe" will air, who's coming back, and who's part of the creative team.

Read more: The 37 Scariest Movie Scenes Ever

The Show Seems...

Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state, until the title of the new Big Bang Theory spin-off was revealed. After over a year of waiting, The Big Bang Theory fans finally know what the franchise's newest spin-off will be about, and... it's very unexpected. The new series was announced in April 2023, and is the first branching series from the flagship show, with the other spin-offs, Young Sheldon and George & Mandy's First Marriage, being set in the past. The show puts Tbbt's supporting cast front and center, with an unexpected character leading the show.

Per Deadline, the new Big Bang Theory spin-off is officially titled Stuart Fails To Save the Universe. As a result, the show will follow Stuart Bloom, played by Kevin Sussman. Stuart was the owner of Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard's (Johnny Galecki) local comic book store, and the character was the butt of more...

The next Big Bang Theory spinoff will officially be titled Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. As suggested by the name of the upcoming series, the new story will be led by the character portrayed by Kevin Sussman. Stuart is known for being stuck in a cycle of unfortunate situations. Judging by the title of his own spinoff, things won't get any better for the beloved Big Bang Theory supporting character. The show is currently in development at Warner Bros. Television. The team behind all the shows that take place around Sheldon Cooper's (Jim Parsons) family and friends will also work on the development of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.

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...

“The Big Bang Theory” co-creator Chuck Lorre says Kaley Cuoco’s character Penny took a few seasons to fully understand.

“It’s a cliched character: the dumb blonde, and we missed it,” Lorre said during the first episode of “The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast.” “We didn’t have that right away that what she brought to this story, this series, to these other characters was an intelligence that they didn’t have. A kind of intelligence that was alien to them, an intelligence about people and relationships and family.”

Cuoco’s Penny didn’t enter “The Big Bang Theory” cast until Lorre penned a “do-over” pilot after shooting a failed first version that never aired. The original opener featured two other female leads, Gilda (Iris Bahr) and Katie (Amanda Walsh).

Lorre said he eventually realized the fresh, and much needed, dynamic Penny brought to the show. He added that...

Chuck Lorre’s The Big Bang Theory has long been criticized for its misogynistic undertones, especially regarding Kaley Cuoco’s character, Penny. Initially introduced as the stereotypical “dumb blonde” with less intellect than her genius counterparts, Leonard and Sheldon, Penny’s character seemed one-dimensional at first.

A still from The Big Bang Theory | Credit: CBS

However, as the series progressed, the show moved beyond the cliché, developing her emotional intelligence and social awareness. And the showrunner has expressed his satisfaction with Penny’s character development, while appreciating the depth and unique intelligence she brought to the show.

Chuck Lorre reflected on Penny’s character development in The Big Bang Theory

Chuck Lorre recently reflected on the very beginning of the hit sitcom during the first episode of The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast with Warner Bros. Television Group chairman and CEO Peter Roth.

Chuck Lorre | Credit: Foundation Interviews via YouTube...

Despite not being on the air since 2019, The Big Bang Theory continues to grip audiences worldwide through its constant reruns on TV and its immense success on streaming. Fans cannot get enough of Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), and Penny's (Kaley Cuoco) nerdy journey across the show's nine seasons. While the above three are easily the most popular characters in the show, creator Chuck Lorre recently admitted that the early seasons failed Penny as a character, and it took him a while to course correct her into the three-dimensional character that fans adore.

While appearing on The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast, Chuck Lorre discussed the creation of Penny, and how she transformed from a stereotype in the early seasons to a fully fleshed-out, complex character. "Even after the second pilot, we had so many episodes to go before we started to understand that there was a brilliance to...

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...

The Big Bang Theory co-creator Chuck Lorre admits that he misunderstood the best part of Penny (Kaley Cuoco) during the sitcom's early episodes. Many elements in the show were revised after the unaired pilot episode, including casting Kaley Cuoco to play Penny instead of Amanda Walsh. Cuoco playing Penny is one of numerous strengths that led to the show's long-running success, along with numerous Big Bang Theory spinoff shows.

On the first episode of The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast (via Deadline), Lorre explains that The Big Bang Theory's early episodes did Penny a disservice by focusing on her being a “goofy blonde who says foolish things.” He breaks down how it took him and the show's creative team too long to realize that the best part of Penny is her intelligence and humanity that the other characters didn't have. Lorre regrets Penny being "sadly one-dimensional" in the beginning,...

The Big Bang Theory may be defying the laws of TV mechanics with its storied success, but there’s one thing co-creator Chuck Lorre said the series “missed” early on with regard to Kaley Cuoco’s character Penny.

In the first episode of The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast opposite former Warner Bros. Television Group chairman and CEO Peter Roth, Lorre — who also co-created Two and a Half Men — discussed the failed unaired pilot of the sitcom and being given a “do-over” following penning a “sh—-y” script alongside collaborator Bill Prady.

The original inaugural episode featured two female main characters, Katie (Amanda Walsh) and Gilda (Iris Bahr), before Kaley Cuoco eventually stepped in as the lead following a rewrite and retaping of what would become the second and aired pilot a year later.

“The magic of Kaley was, Kaley’s character — as we figured this thing out on the...

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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?...

In an industry where franchising is the name of the game, there's money to be had in branching off from a popular main series with a spin-off show. With 12 seasons and 279 episodes under its belt, it was all but inevitable that "The Big Bang Theory" would secure a spin-off of its own, but comedy can be especially tricky. Other long-running shows had spin-offs like "Joey" or "That '80s Show" that barely mustered enough energy to last a season or two. But on the other end of that, "Frasier" is just as vital to "Cheers" as "The Jeffersons" is to "All in the Family" (possibly even more so).

Outside of the central group of Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Howard (Simon Helberg), Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), and Amy (Mayim Bialik), the remaining side characters on "The Big Bang Theory" largely don't have any kind of...

"Young Sheldon" actor Iain Armitage portrayed the younger version of Sheldon Cooper of "The Big Bang Theory" fame, a character made famous by Jim Parsons. For seven seasons, Armitage piled nuance and backstory revelations on the fan-favorite "Big Bang Theory" figure, which is more than enough to make him a true authority on all Sheldon Cooper-themed matters.

Knowing this, it's interesting to learn which "Young Sheldon" episodes Armitage personally thinks are the finest examples of the show's nuanced approach to Sheldon's formative years. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he named two particular favorites:

"I love the geology episode that we did in season 1. We showed why Sheldon hates geology as an adult. I also love the black hole episode because it's just funny and different and weird — really out there but kind of cool to see that we can take those risks."

Season 4 episode 17, titled "A Black Hole,...

In the series finale of "Young Sheldon" — which aired on CBS in May 2024 — Jim Parsons reappears in person to play Sheldon Cooper, but old. Old Sheldon, if you will. This was a welcome surprise for fans of "The Big Bang Theory," the show that spawned "Young Sheldon," a prequel where Sheldon Cooper is played by Iain Armitage growing up in the fictional town of East Medford, Texas. The younger Sheldon goes through a lot, and at the end of the series, he faces his toughest challenge yet when his father George Cooper Sr. (Lance Barber) passes away. During the series finale, Sheldon thinks about losing his father ... and remarks that he also has children, putting all of this into perspective. "For a long time I focused on my father's shortcomings," he says in the show's last episode. "Now that I'm his age and have kids of my own, I realize...

The success of any long-running television show has to start from somewhere. Like most sitcoms, a pilot episode presents an opportunity to see what works and what doesn't. You never know what's going to take off. If I were to determine whether "The Big Bang Theory" would last a single year, let alone a record breaking 12 season run, based on its unaired pilot episode, the answer would be a resounding no.

The canonical pilot that kicked off the series' first season introduces the roommate dynamic of Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons), the hangout sessions they have with their geeky friends Raj (Kunal Nayyar) and Howard (Simon Helberg), and the arrival of the kind-hearted new girl across the hall, Penny (Kaley Cuoco). Whether you actually found this series funny to begin with, the pieces were formed into place, which is more than I can say for the show that could have been.

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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,...

The Big Bang Theory has been a fan-favorite show for many years. But when it came to its concept of some really smart jokes, it might become a bit too much for normal people to understand. While this was done to ensure authenticity, creator Chuck Lorre was adamant about keeping the show as real as it is in the world. So much so that he even hired a professional to bring a level of scientific accuracy to the show.

A still from The Big Bang Theory | Credits:CBS Broadcasting

As many viewers have seen, the characters use some of the most complex questions on their whiteboards. But to the surprise of many, they aren’t just random scribbles, but actual, real equations.

Chuck Lorre hired a UCLA astrophysicist to bring more realism to the show

The Big Bang Theory thoroughly entertained viewers for 12 long seasons, with each better than the last.

"The Big Bang Theory" aired for twelve seasons and the same number of years from 2007 to 2019, and over the course of its tenure on CBS, it became one of the biggest sitcoms in the entire history of the medium. Not only did it consistently score high ratings, but Jim Parsons, who played the enigmatic (if often irritating) Sheldon Cooper, took home multiple Emmys for his performance. In addition to that, the show likely would have continued had Parsons not chosen to walk away after season 12. So why does the cast think the show turned into such an enormous success?

In a 2016 interview with Backstage, Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik, and Melissa Rauch — who, besides Parsons, played Leonard Hofstadter, Penny Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, Amy Farrah Fowler, and Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, respectively — talked about why they think the show turned into one of the biggest...

When you've been an integral part of a sitcom phenomenon that's been popular for over a decade, it can be easy for people to just see an actor in the confines of their character. It may seem impossible to look at Jim Parsons and not think of Sheldon Cooper, but his work in "Hidden Figures" and "The Boys in the Band" shows an actor that's able to break free beyond the "bazinga" stigma. Simon Helberg has certainly had one of the most interesting careers of the "Big Bang Theory" bunch, having directed his own feature ("We'll Never Have Paris") in addition to starring in films directed by Leos Carax ("Annette") and the Coen Brothers ("A Serious Man").

But since the show's finale, it's Kaley Cuoco who has remained the most prevalent in the spotlight. Although she made waves in 2020 with the critically acclaimed Max original series "The Flight Attendant," she's...

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" prides itself on being a show about a bunch of dorks who engage with all sorts of pop culture with a near-religious fervor. Considering they all live in California too, it makes sense that the series would eventually have Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Howard (Simon Helberg), and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) make the trek to the geekdom sanctuary that is San Diego Comic-Con, aka Comic-Con International.

Starting out as a relatively small gathering of comic book geeks, Comic-Con International has grown exponentially to become a global phenomenon. It's now one of the premiere locations for highly anticipated developments in the world of movies, television, and, well, comic books. There are panels, vendors, cosplayers, and bizarre corporate branding as far as the eye can see. You can practically envision the main characters from "The Big Bang Theory" causing chaos on the convention floor.

The season 7 episode...

For The Big Bang Theory’s most dedicated fans, there’s a clear turning point: one Season 3 episode that changes everything. Some even call everything before it just a prologue. It’s the moment the show fully embraces its evolution, setting up the dynamics that’d define the rest of the series.

Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik return as Sheldon and Amy in The Big Bang Theory | Credits: Warner Bros

While early seasons focused on geeky humor and social awkwardness, this episode shifts the balance, adding depth to the characters and reshaping relationships. But what makes it so special?

How Sheldon and Amy’s first meeting redefined The Big Bang Theory Mayim Bialik and Jim Parsons on The Big Bang Theory | Credits: Warner Bros

Hardcore Big Bang Theory fans agree — Season 3, Episode 23 wasn’t just another installment. It was a game-changer. One Redditor summed it up best: “So everything before...

Content Warning: this article contains a discussion of alcoholism.

It might seem outlandish, but even for a show as seemingly straightforward as "The Big Bang Theory," there are a ton of fan theories, like the one about how Leonard Hofstadter — played by Johnny Galecki — dies between "The Big Bang Theory" and the present-day timeline seen in "Young Sheldon." So what about the one where Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco (but was almost someone else!), is a spy for a government agency sent to surveil Leonard, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), and Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg)?

Yes, it's far fetched — but one Redditor outlined it pretty comprehensively years ago. In a thread titled "The Big Bang Theory: Penny is not what she seems," u/numbertheory put forth four main reasons as to why Penny is probably a government plant, perhaps for the CIA or Nsa. First, there's the...

Young Sheldon was set to focus on the early life of Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage), the break-out character from the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, played by Jim Parsons as an adult in that show. But as the show continued through its seven-season run, the attention shifted focus to the entire Cooper family.

This included parents George Sr. (Lance Barber) and Mary (Zoe Perry), older brother Georgie (Montana Jordan), twin sister Missy (Raegan Revord), and grandmother Connie “Meemaw” (Annie Potts). There were other supporting characters who got their own storylines, too. But fans believe that by the end, one character in particular was overlooked and should have gotten more screen time than she did. This is despite Barber suggesting that her being overlooked was “intentional.”

Missy’s Story Was Seriously Lacking

Fans first learn about Sheldon’s twin sister Missy from how he describes her in The Big Bang Theory...

The Big Bang Theory ended almost six years ago, but fans still cannot stop talking about it. Along with the scientific jabs and humor, the show also presented a stellar ensemble, including Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, and Kaley Cuoco, to name a few. Later, several other faces also joined the show, and it’s safe to say that they truly established their place in the storyline as well. One such face was actress Melissa Rauch, who played Bernadette.

Melissa Rauch in The Big Bang Theory | Credits: CBS

While she was brought in as a love interest for Howard, several problematic elements about her soon came to the surface. However, during one particular episode, she said something that can easily be considered one of the worst things she could have said on the show.

The worst thing that Melissa Rauch’s Bernadette ever said on The Big Bang Theory

The characters...

The Big Bang Theory had many important facets that helped keep it memorable even five years after being on the air. The jokes about science, science-fiction memorabilia, and more all played pivotal roles in the series. One recurring part of the show became so noticeable that it even caused fan discussions.

The Big Bang Theory group can be found eating in a high number of scenes throughout the show, whether it's takeout food from a Chinese restaurant, a meal prepared by someone's parents, or a restaurant like the one where Penny briefly worked. The prop team had to work hard to make sure there was enough food on set for each scene. It's also been debated among fans if the actors are actually eating on the show, if they're fake-eating, or if they're given fake food. Surprisingly, it took a NASA team of scientists to find the answer.

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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...

The canon of "The Big Bang Theory" and its various spin-offs is a fluid thing. In one particular instance, for example, the actor playing a younger version of an already established character got a chance to dictate something about how much the character would change. Indeed, Annie Potts, who portrays Sheldon's (Iain Armitage) grandmother MeeMaw on "Young Sheldon," was candid in a 2018 interview with Variety about how she worked with series co-creators Chuck Lorre and Steve Molaro to develop the younger version of a character first played on "The Big Bang Theory" by June Squibb. She explained that because of the loose rules around the "Big Bang Theory" canon, she felt like she had a "clean slate" to work from despite the character already existing in fan's minds. Still, there was one aspect of Squibb's appearance as MeeMaw that Potts really wanted to hang on to.

On both "The Big Bang Theory...

"The Big Bang Theory" shines a spotlight on nerd culture thanks to hilarious storylines and endearing characters that helped shape the careers of Jim Parsons, Melissa Rauch, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar, just to name a few. While the antics of Sheldon Cooper (Parsons), Howard Wolowitz (Helberg), Raj Koothrappali (Nayyar), and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) already offer plenty of laughs, the show would not be complete without big guest stars.

Many guest stars have solidified their place within the fabric of pop culture, which is important for a show that makes so many references to well-known movies and TV shows. It gives the characters a chance to interact with many of the celebrities that they refer to while making jokes that share details about a person's career. 

In order to rank the best 15 guest stars on "The Big Bang Theory," we reviewed the length of each appearance, how much the...

Did Tbbt almost have a different beginning? (Photo Credit – Netflix)

“In my mind, the show truly began with those awkward hellos.” That’s how The Big Bang Theory co-creator Chuck Lorre explained why the show’s original opening scene had to go. While the series became a massive hit, its pilot went through major changes, including an entire first scene that eventually got the axe.

Originally, the series kicked off with Sheldon and Leonard making a deposit at a sperm bank for geniuses. Their social awkwardness was on full display, setting up their personalities before they met Penny. However, as Lorre later decided, the real heart of the show started when Sheldon and Leonard first encountered their bubbly new neighbor. So, when The Big Bang Theory entered syndication, that sperm bank scene quietly disappeared from several versions.

Fans who watched the original airing might have caught the missing moment. But...

Alright, stop us if you’ve heard this one: a nerdy comic book store owner, a quirky geologist, a snarky Caltech antagonist, and a sweet assistant manager walk into a spin-off. No, no…it’s not a bad joke—it’s the lineup for Chuck Lorre’s forthcoming The Big Bang Theory spinoff, and we’re already feeling the excitement build up like a chemistry experiment gone right.

Well, we’re sure the idea of the return of those characters— the ones that made us roll our eyes, laugh hysterically, and sometimes cringe— is enough to make any fan of the original show do a double-take.

A still from The Big Bang Theory | Credits: CBS

So who’s back in this The Big Bang Theory Spinoff? Lorre knows how to pull the right strings— whether it’s heartstrings or, in this case, the strings of nostalgia. The good news? Some...

When Leonard Hofstadter, one of the main nerds on "The Big Bang Theory" portrayed by Johnny Galecki, first lays eyes on his new neighbor Penny (played by Kaley Cuoco), he's immediately smitten; he even tells his best friend and roommate Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) that the babies he wants to have with her will be "smart and beautiful." Honestly, Penny is lucky that Leonard didn't propose marriage a few minutes into their first meeting, but eventually, he does start asking her to marry him — but luckily, they're actually dating by the time he gets around to full-fledged proposals of marriage.

All in all, a marriage proposal (in some form) comes up a whopping five times between Leonard and Penny throughout "The Big Bang Theory," and incredibly, only one of those times results in an actual engagement. I've gone ahead and ranked all of the "engagement scenes" — or, as most of them are,...

Folks of a certain persuasion often had a, shall we say, contentious relationship with "The Big Bang Theory" when it was airing on CBS. The exaggerated characterization and humor of Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady's comedy series, coupled with its rampant casual sexism early on, made it an object of scorn in certain online social circles and fandoms. That it was also a beast in the ratings game only made people that much more comfortable with punching up at it.

However, just as /Film's Bj Colangelo was right to include "The Big Bang Theory" on her list of the five best Lorre shows, I'm going to extend an olive branch to all those out there who adore Sheldon Cooper and friends and admit: "The Big Bang Theory" doesn't entirely deserve the bad rap it gets.

Yes, the show's hacky nerd culture jokes can test your patience, and goodness knows...

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandosoffers his take on traditional multi-cam sitcoms and why he's still willing to give this style of comedy a chance. The streamer's boss used The Big Bang Theory as a good example of the comedy format that supposedly still draws people in. Sarandos argues that we all loved sitcoms growing up, and for this reason, he's still giving multi-cam shows a chance.

The Netflix boss appeared on the podcast "What a Joke with Papa and Fortune," and he told the hosts about the latest sitcom to follow the trend of comedians having shows named after them. Leanne Morgan is getting a new show on Netflix, which is produced by sitcom guru Chuck Lorre: "So we're doing that right now, with Leanne Morgan's got a new one coming with Chuck Lorre... I just watched some of the episodes. It's really funny." Sarandos seems to be aware that...

Sometimes the way we look back on our lives can really change with time and experience, and in the case of Sheldon Cooper, a little bit of earned wisdom helped him reshape the way he thought about his father. In "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon (Jim Parsons) remembers his dad as a nearly abusive adulterer, but in the prequel series "Young Sheldon," he seems to have softened on his dad, George Sr. (Lance Barber), just a bit. One of the first times we get a chance to see a truly sweet side of George is in season 3 when he takes Sheldon on a visit to his dream school, California Institute of Technology, and it turns out that was a very deliberate decision on the part of the creative team behind the show. Sheldon's visit to CalTech is a big deal because it's where he will one day meet his best...

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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...

We bet that there’s still a lot that you don’t know about The Big Bang Theory no matter how often you binge the hit series.

For instance, did you know that Sandra Bullock was supposed to appear on the show? Her role went to another very popular actor after her team sent a “polite decline” to the offer for a simple reason.

Revolving around Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, so much happened onscreen, but it turns out that just as much was going on when fans weren’t watching.

We did some digging and rustled up 12 facts about the show, including details about guest stars who turned down roles (that list includes a massive pop star), actors who were almost overlooked, onset romances, future plans for reboots and more.

One actor even admitted to using their dressing room for hooking up. Take...