Summary
- Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar's contract negotiations almost resulted in them being written out of The Big Bang Theory.
- Kunal Nayyar nearly lost his role as Raj on the show even before it aired, but Chuck Lorre fought to keep him.
- The main five cast members took pay cuts to ensure that Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch received raises, highlighting the close bond among the cast.
We really can't imagine The Big Bang Theory lasting 12 seasons without its main cast. All the main characters played a crucial role in the show's success. That's especially true for Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar. The actors thrived in their roles as Howard and Raj.
However, things got bumpy prior to season 8 for the duo. During contract negotiations, the pair were looking for money similar to Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco. However, the network wasn't budging, and Chuck Lorre along with Steve Molaro weren't pleased with the timeline of the negotiations, which caused a delay to the season.
Ultimately, there was a plan in place to shake things up and potentially write the show without Raj and Howard. Let's take a look back at how it all unfolded.
Chuck Lorre And The Network Almost Cut Ties With Kunal Nayyar And Simon Helberg After Their Contract Demands Were too High
It took a minute, but production for season 8 was ultimately set to resume as Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar set new deals. However, according to Variety, the process was not an easy one. Helberg and Nayyar's reps were working together, trying to get the same deal that was in the same ballpark as Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and Johnny Galecki.
The three had agreed to $1 million per episode. However, the show did not intend on giving Nayyar and Helberg that type of money. Negotiations at one point got so far apart, that the network and Chuck Lorre considered continuing on with Nayyar and Helberg.
Variety writes, "The actors’ rep was advised that their characters would be written out of the series if a deal could not be reached."
"Exec producers Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro were so frustrated by the prolonged negotiations that they were in the process of preparing a script that did not involve Helberg or Nayyar’s characters in order to move forward with the first table read of the season."
Ultimately, a deal was reached between the two sides, but it caused delays behind the scenes, pushing the production back for season 8. Thankfully, everything worked out, especially for the sake of the fans. We can't imagine the show continuing on with Raj and Howard.
It Wasn't The First Time Kunal Nayyar Almost Lost His Job On The Big Bang Theory
As far as Kunal Nayyar goes, it wasn't the first time he almost exited the show. Chuck Lorre had to fight CBS over the actor's potential firing. This particular instance took place even before the show aired, following the pilot that was seen by the network.
Chuck Lorre would learn that the executives weren't into Raj's character, and wanted him to be replaced. Lorre was not pleased with this reveal.
He said, "When I landed in New York for the upfronts, I was informed that Kunal wasn’t there. I was like, “What do you mean he isn’t here? Why isn’t he here?” Apparently while I was flying across the country, a CBS executive determined—unilaterally—that Kunal wasn’t right for the role and we would recast that part. Well, I did not respond well. I was furious."
Lorre was especially upset given that Raj's character wasn't given much of a chance during the first episode, with very few lines.
"If you go back and watch the pilot, we didn’t really give him much of a chance in that episode. It wasn’t because Kunal didn’t deliver, it was because we still hadn’t quite landed on his character."
"I called the execs at CBS and said, “You can’t fire him. I cast him, I believe in him, I’ll take responsibility for this decision. He’s my guy.” If I’m going to fail, I’m going to fail on my own choices. I’m not going to fail on someone else’s choices. I wasn’t about to recast that part because someone else made a decision. It seemed so unfair to cut the actor from the series based on what—the two lines where he whispered to Wolowitz?"
Thankfully, Lorre's opinion mattered, and Nayyar was able to stay on the show, landing a career changing opportunity.
Mayim Bialik And Melissa Rauch Also Got A Pay Raise Because Of The Cast
Similar to Helberg and Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch were seeking parity in their new contracts. Once again, the studio was being very firm with their terms. Ultimately, it took a gracious gesture from the main five cast members who all took pay cuts in order to accommodate the salaries of Bialik and Rauch.
Variety writes, "According to multiple sources, the five original cast members on the show – Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg — made the extraordinary gesture of taking a small pay cut to free up money for raises for Bialik and Rauch."
The actors agreed on a $100,000 decrease in order to accommodate the two stars. This shows how close the cast was, and how much they valued the contributions of Bialik and Rauch on the series.
