With twelve seasons and almost 280 episodes, The Big Bang Theory is the longest-running sitcom of all time. It also became one of the most popular series of this generation. By the time its third season came out, TBBT was CBS's highest-rated show among the 18 to 49 demographic, with almost 13 million viewers. The show was so successful that in 2016, CBS announced that a spin-off series centered on Sheldon’s childhood was in the making.
When The Big Bang Theory came to an end in 2019, approximately 18 million people tuned in to see its grand finale.
Although the series came to an unexpected end after Jim Parsons’ he was leaving the show, the writers managed to wrap up the series with a heartfelt finale.
Fans loved it, feeling like the final episode was a great farewell to their favorite character. And they're not the only ones. In a recent interview, Kaley Cuoco revealed that she was blown away by Sheldon’s Nobel Prize speech in the finale, calling his performance “unreal.”
Jim Parsons Decided to Leave The Big Bang Theory After 12 Years Following a Personal Tragedy
After 12 years of portraying Sheldon Cooper, Jim Parsons surprised fans and his cast mates by announcing that he wanted to leave The Big Bang Theory for good. Parson’s departure from the show was a combination of several things.
Firstly, by the time TBBT’s last season was filmed, Parsons found himself with too much work. In 2017, he began doing some narrating for Young Sheldon. In addition to this, Parsons was set to star in a modern redo of the classic play The Boys in the Band, plus he was busy producing and starring in the film A Kid Like Jake. In addition to this, Parsons was dealing with a foot injury from slipping during a Broadway curtain call. But what ultimately led to his departure from the show was the death of his and his partner’s 14-year-old dog.
Following this tragic loss, Parsons realized that he was only six years younger than his father was when he died. This was a wake-up call that made Parsons realize that it was time to move on from TBBT. "If you told me that, like my father, I had six years left to live," Parsons revealed in an interview for USA Today, "I think there's other things I need to try and do."
The Show Runners Decided Against Creating a New Season of The Big Bang Theory Without Jim Parsons
Following Jim Parsons’ announcement that he was quitting The Big Bang Theory, the show’s producers, Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro, played with the idea of continuing the series without Sheldon Cooper. But ultimately, they decided that the series couldn’t go on without one of its main characters.
"I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of going on without the whole ensemble — and the whole ensemble is why we succeeded," Lorre told The Hollywood Reporter. "In pulling it apart and re-approaching it as a fraction of what it was just never felt right to me. I've seen other shows try and fail to take a character out of their realm and carry on."
So, instead of trying to keep the show running, Lorre and Molaro decided that The Big Bang Theory would have to come to an end after twelve seasons. The producers, along with an incredibly talented team of writers then worked on creating the a great finale for the show.
Kaley Cuoco Was Astonished By Jim Parsons’ Performance on the TBBT Series Finale
The Big Bang Theory ended on a great note. Something not every long-running sitcom manages. On the series finale, viewers get to see Amy and Sheldon won the Nobel Prize for physics. They also get a glimpse of Howard and Bernadette’s children and learn that Leonard and Penny are expecting. As if that wasn’t enough, Raj ends up befriending Sarah Michelle Gellar on the way to the awards ceremony.
But one of the most important things fans got from the series finale, was a shocking moment of personal growth. During his acceptance speech, Sheldon surprises everyone by thanking his friends for the major roles they played in his life.
In an interview for The Hollywood Reporter, Kaley Cuoco, who played Penny throughout the series twelve seasons revealed how she felt about this heartfelt scene in the finale.
“When I originally read the script, at the Nobel ceremony — when everyone stands up — I was just so amazed by the brilliant writing,” Cuoco explained. “To give everyone their moment and to have Sheldon who, after all these years, can never apologize — actually apologize — to his friends is unbelievable. And to do it in front of people and to give of himself like that was unreal.”
