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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,”
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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, Parsons decided not to renew, shocking his co-stars because creator Chuck Lorre didn’t want to continue the series without Sheldon at its center. This led to some hard feelings between Parsons and co-stars Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki, and in Jessica Radloff’s oral history book “The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series,” Galecki elaborated on just how it felt to be “blindsided” by Parsons’s decision.
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Galecki was shocked that Parsons hadn’t discussed leaving with his co-stars first
Instead of continuing with more seasons, like the cast originally thought, things ended with season 12 because of Parsons walking away, and Galecki was devastated that it wasn’t more of a conversation:
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“I was shocked. We were just blindsided that day. And not necessarily shocked by Jim’s decision, but that he hadn’t had that conversation with his castmates first to prepare us. So yes, it could have been handled better. We’re a family; have a conversation. And I don’t even disagree with how Jim felt, because in many ways, I felt the same way. I just disagreed with how it was managed.”
Understandably, everyone was feeling a little burnt out on “The Big Bang Theory,” especially since Galecki and Cuoco had dated in real life and broke up alongside their characters. It’s also understandable that they felt left out of the decision to end the series. In the end, everything worked out, and the cast moved on to other projects, but things were very tense among the formerly tight group for a while.
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Would a conversation have changed anything?
While it seems like “The Big Bang Theory” could have kept running for years if Parsons had decided to stick around, it’s unlikely that the show ever would have seen a season 13. Not only was Parsons ready to be done with Sheldon Cooper, but Simon Helberg, who played Howard, was also ready to move on and start the next part of his career. Everyone was feeling worn down and had started working on other projects that made filming a sitcom difficult, so “The Big Bang Theory” would have likely ended with season 12 no matter what.
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It would have been nice for Parsons to discuss his feelings and plans with his co-stars before deciding to depart and thus ending the show, but honestly, that sounds exactly like something Sheldon might do. In fact, the whole ordeal sounds like the kind of problem the gang might deal with on “The Big Bang Theory” in a bit of life imitating art. Parsons would eventually return to the franchise to do some narrating and eventually appear on the prequel series “Young Sheldon,” but he found it uncomfortable and weird and probably won’t reprise the role much again. Oh well, at least we have 12 whole years of geeky gags and “Bazingas” to enjoy.
