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102-603: The Big Bang Theory is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady , both of whom served as executive producers and head writers on the series, along with Steven Molaro . It aired on CBS from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five characters living in Pasadena, California : Leonard Hofstadter ( Johnny Galecki ) and Sheldon Cooper ( Jim Parsons ), both physicists at Caltech , who share an apartment; Penny ( Kaley Cuoco ),

204-435: A 10   percent pay cut to allow Bialik and Rauch an increase in their earnings. This put Galecki, Parsons, Cuoco, Helberg and Nayyar at $ 900,000 per episode, with Parsons, Galecki, and Helberg also receiving overall deals with Warner Bros. Television. By the end of April, Bialik and Rauch had signed deals to earn $ 500,000 per episode each, with the deals also including a separate development component for both actors. The deal

306-421: A 13-episode order by CBS on May 14, 2007. Prior to its airing on CBS , the pilot episode was distributed on iTunes free of charge. The show premiered on September 24, 2007, and was picked up for a full 22-episode season on October 19, 2007. The show is filmed in front of a live audience, and it is produced by Chuck Lorre Productions and Warner Bros. Television . Production was halted on November 6, 2007, due to

408-540: A 30-minute time slot. Throughout their history, American sitcoms have often drawn inspiration from British counterparts. Popular shows like All in the Family , Three's Company , and Sanford and Son were adapted from successful British series. More recently, The Office achieved significant popularity in the United States , following the success of its British counterpart. Numerous television networks in

510-535: A Blu-ray disc set has also been released in conjunction with the DVD. In 2012, Warner Bros. released the first two seasons on Blu-ray, marking the first time that all episodes were available on the Blu-ray disc format. Although the initial reception was mixed, the show went on to receive a more positive reception. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81% approval rating from critics. On Metacritic ,

612-444: A Half Men (which held the position for the past 8 years). However, in the age 18–49 demographic (the show's target age range), it was the second highest-rated comedy, behind ABC 's Modern Family . The fifth season opened with viewing figures of over 14 million. The sixth season boasts some of the highest-rated episodes for the show so far, with a then-new series high set with " The Bakersfield Expedition ", with 20 million viewers,

714-588: A Ph.D. in neuroscience, on the subject of biology. The Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies wrote and recorded the show's theme song, which describes the history and formation of the universe and the Earth. Co-lead singer Ed Robertson was asked by Lorre and Prady to write a theme song for the show after the producers attended one of the band's concerts in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, Robertson had recently read Simon Singh 's book Big Bang , and at

816-420: A boyfriend, and they invite her to share their apartment. Gilda is threatened by Katie's presence. Test audiences reacted negatively to Katie, but they liked Sheldon and Leonard. The original pilot used Thomas Dolby 's hit " She Blinded Me with Science " as its theme song. Although the original pilot was not picked up, its creators were given an opportunity to retool it and produce a second pilot. They brought in

918-516: A consequence of losing a bet to Stuart and Wil Wheaton, the group members are forced to visit the comic book store dressed as Catwoman , Wonder Woman , Batgirl , and Supergirl . DC Comics announced that, to promote its comics, the company would sponsor Sheldon wearing Green Lantern T-shirts. Various games have been featured, as well as referred to, on the series (e.g. World of Warcraft , Halo , Mario , Donkey Kong , etc.), including fictional games like Mystic Warlords of Ka'a (which became

1020-544: A core group of characters who interact in a recurring setting, such as a family, workplace, or institution. However, British sitcoms typically consist of shorter series, often six episodes, and are frequently developed by a smaller writing team. The majority of British sitcoms are half-hour comedies recorded in studio settings using a multiple-camera setup. While many adhere to traditional sitcom conventions, some have ventured into more unconventional territory. For example, Blackadder and Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister shifted

1122-420: A dinner in which Sheldon fails to live up to this expectation, Amy gives Sheldon an ultimatum that their relationship is over unless he tells her something from his heart. Amy accepts Sheldon's romantic speech even after learning that it is a line from the first Spider-Man movie. In "The Cooper/Kripke Inversion", Sheldon states that he has been working on his discomfort about physical contact and admits that "it's

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1224-407: A fight about commitment on their fifth anniversary. Amy tells Sheldon that she needs to think about the future of their relationship, unaware that Sheldon was about to propose to her. Season nine sees Sheldon harassing Amy about making up her mind until she breaks up with him. Both struggle with singlehood and trying to be friends for the next few weeks until they reunite in episode ten and have sex for

1326-433: A first for the series, which along with NCIS , made CBS the first network to have two scripted series reach that large an audience in the same week since 2007. In the sixth season, the show became the highest rated and viewed scripted show in the 18–49 demographic, trailing only the live regular NBC Sunday Night Football coverage, and was third in total viewers, trailing NCIS and Sunday Night Football . Season seven of

1428-439: A former boyfriend in " The Good Guy Fluctuation ". Penny, who admits to missing Leonard in " The Roommate Transmogrification ", accepts his request to renew their relationship in " The Beta Test Initiation ". After Penny suggests having sex in "The Launch Acceleration", Leonard breaks the mood by proposing to her. Penny says "no" but does not break up with him. She stops a proposal a second time in "The Tangible Affection Proof". In

1530-439: A full-length (1 minute and 45 seconds) version of the song was released commercially. Although some unofficial pages identify the song title as "History of Everything," the cover art for the single identifies the title as "Big Bang Theory Theme." A music video also was released via special features on The Complete Fourth Season DVD and Blu-ray set. The theme was included on the band's greatest hits album, Hits from Yesterday &

1632-441: A lawyer read through it. In "The Launch Acceleration", Amy tries to use her "neurobiology bag of tricks" to increase the attraction between herself and Sheldon. Her efforts appear to be working because Sheldon is not happy, but he makes no attempt to stop her. In the fifth-season finale, "The Countdown Reflection", Sheldon takes Amy's hand as Howard is launched into space. In the sixth-season premiere, "The Date Night Variable", after

1734-455: A lead-in to the channel's newest comedy, Perfect Couples . Episode 19, the highest-viewed episode of the season, attracted 1.4 million viewers. Season 6 premiered on November 15, 2012, with 1.89 million viewers and a further 469,000 on the time shift channel, bringing the total to 2.31 million, E4's highest viewing ratings of 2012, and the highest the channel had received since June 2011. The sixth season returned in mid-2013 to finish airing

1836-403: A night of dancing, and she kisses him on the lips. Instead of getting annoyed, Sheldon says "fascinating" and later asks Amy to be his girlfriend in "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition". The same night he draws up "The Relationship Agreement" to verify the ground rules of him as her boyfriend and vice versa (similar to his "Roommate Agreement" with Leonard). Amy agrees but later regrets not having had

1938-440: A possibility" that he could one day have sex with Amy. Amy is revealed to have similar feelings in "The Love Spell Potential". Sheldon explains that he never thought about intimacy with anyone before Amy. "The Locomotive Manipulation" is the first episode in which Sheldon initiates a kiss with Amy. Although initially done in a fit of sarcasm, he discovers that he enjoys the feeling. Consequently, Sheldon slowly starts to open up over

2040-478: A producer, director, and actor. A minor character, Althea ( Vernee Watson ), appeared in the first scene of both pilots that was retained generally as-is. The first pilot included two female lead characters - Katie, "a street-hardened, tough-as-nails woman with a vulnerable interior" (played by Canadian actress Amanda Walsh ), and Gilda, a scientist colleague and friend of the male characters (played by Iris Bahr ). Sheldon and Leonard meet Katie after she breaks up with

2142-550: A professional actor at age 12. She has dabbled in sketches and stand-up comedy, with numerous TV appearances. She won a gold medal win at the 2000 Improv Games in Quebec as a member of the "8 People" troupe. She is a graduate from John Abbott College , Creative Arts program. Walsh was encouraged to apply for the position of a MuchMusic VJ by one of the channel's producer while waiting tables in Hudson, Quebec. She applied and got

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2244-461: A reality in 2011) and Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock . One of the recurring plot lines is the relationship between Leonard and Penny. Leonard becomes attracted to Penny in the pilot episode, and his need to do favors for her is a frequent point of humor in the first season. Meanwhile, Penny dates a series of muscular, stereotypically "attractive," unintelligent, and insensitive jocks. Their first long-term relationship begins when Leonard returns from

2346-492: A recurring role as a fictionalized version of himself . Leonard and Sheldon have had conversations in Klingon . They are also fans of Star Wars , Battlestar Galactica , and Doctor Who . James Earl Jones , Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill make guest appearances. In the episode "The Ornithophobia Diffusion", when there is a delay in watching Star Wars on Blu-ray, Howard complains, "If we don't start soon, George Lucas

2448-687: A role in the Internet series The Remnants with Ze Frank . She can be seen in the 2009 comedy film Ghosts of Girlfriends Past . In 2010, she appeared in ABC Family's Beauty and the Briefcase playing Hilary Duff's best friend Joanne. She was cast as the lead in the pilot episode for The CW 's dramedy Danni Lowinski . She made appearances in the TV shows Grimm , Two and a Half Men and NCIS . In 2014–2015, she appeared in ten episodes of

2550-480: A surrogate father to their kid since Zack is infertile. Penny reluctantly agrees to let Leonard donate his sperm. However, when she tries to seduce Leonard despite knowing he has to be abstinent for a few days, her visiting father, Wyatt, points out to Penny that her own actions suggest she is more conflicted over having kids than she lets on, and she admits she feels bad about letting him and Leonard down if she never has children. He says that despite her flaws, parenthood

2652-513: A three-month expedition to the North Pole in the season 3 premiere. However, when Leonard tells Penny that he loves her, she realizes she cannot say it back, and they break up. Both Leonard and Penny go on to date other people, most notably with Leonard dating Raj's sister Priya for much of season 4. This relationship is jeopardized when Leonard mistakenly comes to believe that Raj has slept with Penny, and it ultimately ends when Priya sleeps with

2754-581: A waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's similarly geeky and socially awkward friends and coworkers, aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz ( Simon Helberg ) and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali ( Kunal Nayyar ). Over time, supporting characters were promoted to starring roles, including neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler ( Mayim Bialik ), microbiologist Bernadette Rostenkowski ( Melissa Rauch ), and comic book store owner Stuart Bloom ( Kevin Sussman ). The show

2856-440: A woman compatible with Sheldon, and they discover neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler. Like Sheldon, she has a history of social ineptitude and participates in online dating only to fulfill an agreement with her mother. This spawns a story line in which Sheldon and Amy communicate daily while insisting to Leonard and Penny that they are not romantically involved. In "The Agreement Dissection", Sheldon and Amy talk in her apartment after

2958-554: Is described by Sheldon as a song sung by his mother when he was ill. Its repeated use in the series popularized the song. A scene showing the origin of the song in Sheldon's childhood is depicted in an episode of Young Sheldon , which aired on February 1, 2018. It shows Sheldon's mother, Mary, singing the song to her son, who has the flu . In scenes set at Howard's home, he interacts with his rarely seen mother (voiced by Carol Ann Susi until her death) by shouting from room to room in

3060-423: Is going to change it again" (referring to Lucas' controversial alterations to the films). In "The Hot Troll Deviation", Katee Sackhoff of Battlestar Galactica appeared as Howard's fantasy dream girl. The characters have different tastes in franchises, with Sheldon praising Firefly but disapproving of Leonard's enjoyment of Babylon 5 . With regard to fantasy, the four make frequent references to The Lord of

3162-564: Is one of the leading channels in India, dedicated entirely to Sitcoms. Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is the longest-running sitcom of Indian television and is also known as the flagship show of SAB TV . On Tiptoes and Shabhaye Barareh were among the first and most important sitcoms that led to the growth of this type of comedy in Iran, both receiving wide critical and audience acclaim. El Chavo del Ocho , which ran from 1971 to 1980,

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3264-401: Is superior. As the theme of the show revolves around science, many distinguished and high-profile scientists have appeared as guest stars on the show. Famous astrophysicist and Nobel laureate George Smoot had a cameo appearance in the second season. Chemical engineer and Nobel laureate Frances Arnold portrayed herself in the 12th season. Theoretical physicist Brian Greene appeared in

3366-433: Is the best thing that ever happened to him, and he does not want her to miss out, but that he will support her no matter what she does. Leonard eventually changes his mind, not wanting a child in the world that he cannot raise. In the series finale, Penny is pregnant with Leonard's baby, and she has changed her mind about not wanting children. In the third-season finale, Raj and Howard sign Sheldon up for online dating to find

3468-725: The Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy Series . In 2020, the sixth and final season of Schitt's Creek was nominated for 15 Primetime Emmy Awards . This broke the record for the most Emmy nominations given to a comedy series in its final season. During the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards , the show became the first ever comedy or drama series to sweep the four acting categories ( Outstanding Lead Actor , Outstanding Lead Actress , Outstanding Supporting Actor , Outstanding Supporting Actress for Eugene Levy , Catherine O'Hara , Dan Levy , and Annie Murphy respectively) and one of only four live action shows, along with All in

3570-753: The RTR channel. The "boom" of Russian sitcoms began only in the 2000s, when in 2004, the STS started the highly successful sitcom " My Fair Nanny " (an adaptation of the American sitcom " The Nanny "). Since that time, sitcoms in Russia have been produced by the two largest entertainment channels in the country — STS and TNT . In 2007, the STS released the first original domestic sitcom — " Daddy's Daughters " (there were only adaptations before), and in 2010, TNT released " Interns " —

3672-578: The United States feature sitcoms in their programming. CBS , TBS, Nickelodeon , and Disney Channel are just a few examples of networks that air sitcoms. Amanda Walsh Amanda Walsh is a Canadian actress, writer, and former VJ for the Canadian television station MuchMusic . Walsh was born in Rigaud, Quebec . She went to Hudson High School, in Hudson, Quebec . Walsh began working as

3774-483: The University of California, Los Angeles , checked scripts and provided dialogue, mathematics equations, and diagrams used as props. According to series co-creator Bill Prady , Sheldon was given an actual equation to be worked on throughout the first season, with the actual progress displayed on whiteboards in Sheldon and Leonard's apartment. Saltzberg, who has a Ph.D. in physics, served as the science consultant for

3876-487: The Writers Guild of America strike . Nearly three months later, on February 4, 2008, the series was temporarily replaced by a short-lived sitcom, Welcome to The Captain . The series returned on March 17, 2008, in an earlier time slot, and ultimately only 17 episodes were produced for the first season. After the strike ended, the show was picked up for a second season, airing in the 2008–2009 season , premiering in

3978-664: The comedy-dramas of the 1980s and 1990s. Although there have been few long-running Australian-made sitcoms, many American and British sitcoms have been successful in Australia, since sitcoms are considered a staple of the government broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). In the 1970s and 1980s many British sitcoms also screened on the Seven Network . By 1986, UK comedies Bless This House and Are You Being Served? had been re-screened several times by ABC Television ; they were then acquired and screened by

4080-431: The 1990s these included: Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993), Zabaan Sambhalke (1993), Shrimaan Shrimati (1995), Office Office (2001), Ramani Vs Ramani (Tamil 2001), Amrutham (Telugu 2001–2007), Khichdi (2002), Sarabhai vs Sarabhai (2005) F.I.R. (2006–2015), Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (2008–present), Uppum Mulakum (Malayalam 2015–present), and Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain (2015–present). SAB TV

4182-482: The 1990s, sitcoms have since expanded to animated sitcoms , with successful shows of the genre including The Simpsons , King of the Hill , and Family Guy . Critics have debated the exact definition of a sitcom, mostly regarding productions created at the turn of the 21st century. Many contemporary American sitcoms use a single-camera setup and do not feature a laugh track, instead more resembling documentaries or

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4284-482: The 2010s, resulting in a decline in sitcom popularity. Nevertheless, there have been recent efforts to revive the sitcom genre. For instance, Netflix released So Not Worth It in 2021, featuring many creators from popular South Korean sitcoms. Popular South Korean sitcoms include the High Kick series, which has spawned several spin-offs. British sitcoms , like their American counterparts, often revolve around

4386-488: The 2013–14 television season, beaten out by Judge Judy . The show made its United Kingdom debut on Channel 4 on February 14, 2008. The show was also shown as a 'first-look' on Channel 4's digital offshoot E4 prior to the main channel's airing. While the show's ratings were not deemed strong enough to warrant broadcast on the main channel, they were considered the opposite for E4. For each following season, all episodes were shown first-run on E4, with episodes only aired on

4488-423: The 2018–19 television season. Several of the actors on The Big Bang Theory previously worked together on the sitcom Roseanne , including Johnny Galecki, Sara Gilbert , Laurie Metcalf (who plays Sheldon's mother, Mary Cooper ), and Meagen Fay (who plays Bernadette's mother). Additionally, Lorre was a writer on the series for several seasons. David Saltzberg , a professor of physics and astronomy at

4590-520: The Day Before , released on September 27, 2011. In September 2015, TMZ uncovered court documents showing that Steven Page sued former bandmate Robertson over the song, alleging that he was promised 20 percent of the proceeds, but that Robertson has kept that money for himself. For the first three seasons, Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco, the three main stars of the show, received up to $ 60,000 per episode. Their salaries rose to $ 200,000 per episode for

4692-417: The Family , The Golden Girls , and Will & Grace where all the principal actors have won at least one Emmy Award. Sitcoms started appearing on Indian television in the 1980s, with serials like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (1984), Nukkad (1986), and Wagle Ki Duniya (1988) on the state-run Doordarshan channel. Gradually, as private channels were permitted to operate, many more sitcoms followed. In

4794-634: The Rings and Harry Potter novels and movies. Additionally, Howard can speak Sindarin , one of the two Elvish languages from The Lord of the Rings . Wednesday night is the group's designated "comic book night" because that is the day of the week when new comic books are released. The comic book store is run by fellow geek and recurring character Stuart. On a number of occasions, the group members have dressed up as pop culture characters, including The Flash , Aquaman , Frodo Baggins , Superman , Batman , Spock , The Doctor , Green Lantern , and Thor . As

4896-728: The Seven Network. In 1981, Daily at Dawn was the first Australian comedy series to feature a regular gay character (Terry Bader as journalist Leslie). In 1987, Mother and Son won the Television Drama Award for portraying a woman suffering from senile dementia and her interaction with her family, presented by the Australian Human Rights Commission . In 2007, Kath & Kim ' s first episode of series 4 attracted an Australian audience of 2.521 million nationally. This

4998-504: The TV show Lost Girl as Elizabeth Helm/Zee. In 2017, she appeared in the second season of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency in the central role of Suzie Boreton. The show was canceled at the end of the season. Walsh became one of the story editors for the Canadian TV comedy Schitt's Creek and wrote one of the episodes for season 1. Walsh then had a role in the 2022 film Doula . Walsh appeared in season three of

5100-588: The United States in 1926 with the radio show Sam 'n' Henry . The subsequent success of Amos 'n' Andy , also created by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll , solidified the sitcom's place in American radio programming. The transition to television brought about significant changes in the sitcom format. Mary Kay and Johnny , which premiered in 1947, became the first American television sitcom. Today, American sitcoms typically run for 22 minutes, allowing for approximately eight minutes of advertising within

5202-695: The United States on September 24, 2007, on CBS. The series debuted in Canada on CTV in September 2007. On February 14, 2008, the series debuted in the United Kingdom on channels E4 and Channel 4 . In Australia the first seven seasons of the series began airing on the Seven Network and 7mate from October 2015 and also gained the rights to season 8 in 2016, although the Nine Network has rights to air seasons nine & ten. On January 22, 2018, it

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5304-522: The adults 18–49 demographic (4.6/10) along with a then-series-high 12.83 million viewers. After the first three seasons aired at different times on Monday nights, CBS moved the show to Thursdays at 8:00 ET for the 2010–2011 schedule , to be in direct competition with NBC 's Comedy Block and Fox 's American Idol (then the longest reigning leading primetime show on U.S. television from 2004 to 2011). During its fourth season, it became television's highest rated comedy, just barely beating out Two and

5406-419: The apartment building where Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny (and later Amy) live, the elevator has been out of order throughout most of the series, forcing characters to have to use the stairs. Stairway conversations between characters occur in almost every episode, often serving as a transition between longer scenes. The Season 3 episode, "The Staircase Implementation" reveals that the elevator was broken when Leonard

5508-602: The beginning of August 2014, giving the three principal actors an estimated $ 1   million per episode for three years, with the possibility to extend for a fourth year. The deals also include larger pieces of the show, signing bonuses, production deals, and advances towards the back-end. Helberg and Nayyar were also able to renegotiate their contracts, giving them a per-episode pay in the "mid-six-figure range", up from around $ 100,000 per episode they each received in years prior. The duo, who were looking to have salary parity with Parsons, Galecki, and Cuoco, signed their contracts after

5610-599: The character of Spock , so much so that when he is given a used napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy as a Christmas gift from Penny, he is overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude ("I possess the DNA of Leonard Nimoy?!"). Star Trek: The Original Series cast members William Shatner and George Takei have made cameos, and Leonard Nimoy made a cameo as the voice of Sheldon's vintage Mr. Spock action figure. Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton have had cameos as themselves, while Wil Wheaton has

5712-705: The characters' romantic lives. Leslie breaks up with Leonard when he sides with Sheldon in his support for string theory rather than loop quantum gravity . When Leonard joins Sheldon, Raj, and Howard on a three-month Arctic research trip, it separates Leonard and Penny at a time when their relationship is budding. When Bernadette takes an interest in Leonard's work, it makes both Penny and Howard envious and results in Howard confronting Leonard and Penny asking Sheldon to teach her physics. Sheldon and Amy also briefly end their relationship after an argument over which of their fields

5814-426: The concert he improvised a freestyle rap about the origins of the universe. Lorre and Prady phoned him shortly thereafter and asked him to write the theme song. Having been asked to write songs for other films and shows, but ending up being rejected because producers favored songs by other artists, Robertson agreed to write the theme only after learning that Lorre and Prady had not asked anyone else. On October 9, 2007,

5916-436: The end of the contract, as well as adding another year for both. By season seven, Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco were also receiving 0.25   percent of the series' back-end money. Before production began on the eighth season, the three plus Helberg and Nayyar looked to renegotiate new contracts, with Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco seeking around $ 1   million per episode, as well as more back-end money. Contracts were signed in

6018-477: The first eight episodes of that show's fourth season, The Big Bang Theory returned to finish airing its eighth season on March 19, 2015. Netflix UK & Ireland announced on February 13, 2016, that seasons 1–8 would be available to stream from February 15, 2016. Sitcom The structure and concept of a sitcom have roots in earlier forms of comedic theater, such as farces and comedy of manners . These forms relied on running gags to generate humor, but

6120-647: The first sitcom, filmed as a comedy (unlike dominated "conveyor" sitcoms). Sitcoms, or "시트콤" in Korean, gained significant popularity in South Korea during the 1990s. This popularity was fueled by the success of shows like Dr. Oh's People , LA Arirang , and Men and Women . The use of computer graphics (CG) in sitcoms began to increase in the late 1990s as more broadcasters adopted CG technology. This led to more visually dynamic and creative sitcoms. However, viewer preferences shifted towards dramas and thrillers in

6222-526: The first six seasons are available for streaming on Bell Media's CraveTV . After the show has aired in New Zealand the shows are available in full online at TVNZ's on demand web service. In 2020, the show became available in the United States on HBO Max . The first and second seasons were only available on DVD at their time of release in 2008 and 2009. Starting with the release of the third season in 2010 and continuing every year with every new season,

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6324-505: The first time on Amy's birthday. In season ten, Amy's apartment is flooded, and she and Sheldon decide to move in together into Penny's apartment as part of a five-week experiment to determine compatibility with each other's living habits. It goes well and they decide to make the arrangement permanent. In the Season 11 premiere, Sheldon proposes to Amy, and she accepts. The two get married in the eleventh-season finale. The song " Soft Kitty "

6426-496: The focus from domestic or workplace settings to the world of politics. A more recent development in British comedy is the mockumentary , a style that blends documentary and comedic elements. Shows like The Office , Come Fly with Me , W1A , People Just Do Nothing , and This Country have successfully employed this format to explore a variety of topics and characters. Sitcoms, or situation comedies, made their debut in

6528-536: The fourth season began airing on November 4, 2010, at 9:00 p.m., drawing 877,000 viewers, with a further 256,000 watching on the E4+1 hour service. This gave the show an overall total of 1.13 million viewers, making it E4's most-watched programme for that week. The increased ratings continued over subsequent weeks. The fourth season's second half began on June 30, 2011. Season 5 began airing on November 3, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. as part of E4's Comedy Thursdays, acting as

6630-484: The fourth season, as well as astrophysicist, science popularizer, and physics outreach specialist Neil deGrasse Tyson , who also appeared in the twelfth season. Cosmologist Stephen Hawking made a short guest appearance in a fifth-season episode; in the eighth season, Hawking video conferences with Sheldon and Leonard, and he makes another appearance in the 200th episode. In the fifth and sixth seasons, NASA astronaut Michael J. Massimino played himself multiple times in

6732-463: The fourth season, then went up an additional $ 50,000 in each of the following three seasons, culminating in $ 350,000 per episode in the seventh season. In September 2013, Bialik and Rauch renegotiated the contracts they held since they were introduced to the series in 2010. On their old contracts, each was making $ 20,000–$ 30,000 per episode, while the new contracts doubled that, beginning at $ 60,000 per episode, increasing steadily to $ 100,000 per episode by

6834-456: The house. She similarly interacts with other characters in this manner. She reflects the Jewish mother stereotype in some ways, such as being overly controlling of Howard's adult life and sometimes trying to make him feel guilty about causing her trouble. She is dependent on Howard, as she requires him to help her with her wig and makeup in the morning. Howard, in turn, is attached to his mother to

6936-516: The job, becoming the youngest VJ in MuchMusic history at the age of nineteen. She has hosted or co-hosted many programmes including Much Top Tens , Electric Circus , MuchOnDemand , Fandemonium and others. She left MuchMusic in 2004 to pursue an acting career. Walsh made appearances on TV shows such as Smallville , Veronica Mars , and also had a minor role in the film Disturbia . In 2005, she starred opposite David Boreanaz in

7038-436: The main channel in a repeat capacity, usually on a weekend morning. From the third season, the show aired in two parts, being split so that it could air new episodes for longer throughout the year. This was due to rising ratings. The first part began airing on December 17, 2009, at 9:00 p.m. while the second part, containing the remaining eleven episodes, began airing in the same time period from May 6, 2010. The first half of

7140-549: The movie These Girls , based on the play by Vivienne Laxdale . The movie was shown at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival . She had a small role in the movie "Stardom (2000)" playing an overenthusiastic VJ on a parody of the Canadian music channel MuchMusic. After moving to Los Angeles , Walsh got a starring role in the ABC mid-season replacement Sons & Daughters , which premiered in March 2006. Sons & Daughters

7242-478: The narrating adult Sheldon. The third series in the franchise, a sequel series to Young Sheldon titled Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage , premiered in October 2024 and follows Sheldon's older brother, Georgie, and his wife, Mandy. A fourth series, following Stuart, his girlfriend Denise, and geologist Bert Kibbler, is in development for Max . The show's pilot episode premiered on September 24, 2007. This

7344-444: The penultimate episode "The Gorilla Dissolution", Penny admits that they should marry and when Leonard realizes that she is serious, he proposes with a ring that he has been carrying for years. Leonard and Penny decide to elope to Las Vegas in the season 8 finale, but beforehand, wanting no secrets, Leonard admits to kissing another woman, Mandy Chow ( Melissa Tang ) while on the expedition. Despite this, Leonard and Penny finally marry in

7446-605: The point where she still cuts his meat for him, takes him to the dentist, does his laundry and "grounds" him when he returns home after briefly moving out. Until Howard's marriage to Bernadette in the fifth-season finale, Howard's former living situation led Leonard's psychiatrist mother to speculate that he may suffer from some type of pathology and Sheldon to refer to their relationship as Oedipal . In season 8, Howard's mother dies in her sleep while in Florida, which devastates Howard and Stuart, who briefly lived with Mrs. Wolowitz. In

7548-406: The remaining cast and retooled the show to its final format. Katie was replaced by Penny ( Kaley Cuoco ). The original unaired pilot has never been officially released, but it has circulated on the Internet. On the evolution of the show, Chuck Lorre said, "We did the 'Big Bang Pilot' about two and a half years ago, and it sucked ... but there were two remarkable things that worked perfectly, and that

7650-405: The remaining episodes. Season 7 premiered on E4 on October 31, 2013, at 8:30 pm and hit multiple ratings records this season. The second half of season seven aired in mid 2014. The eighth season premiered on E4 on October 23, 2014, at 8:30 pm. During its eighth season, The Big Bang Theory shared its 8:30 pm time period with fellow CBS comedy, 2 Broke Girls . Following the airing of

7752-425: The rest of the season, and he starts a more intimate relationship with Amy. However, in the season finale, Sheldon leaves town temporarily to cope with several changes and Amy becomes distraught. However, 45 days into the trip, Sheldon gets mugged and calls for Leonard to drive him home, only to be confronted by Amy, who is upset over not being contacted by him in weeks. When Sheldon admits he did not call her because he

7854-435: The role of Howard's fellow astronaut. In the sixth season, NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin had a cameo appearance. Bill Nye appeared in the seventh and twelfth seasons. The four main male characters are all avid fans of nerd culture . Among their shared interests are science fiction , fantasy , comic books, and collecting memorabilia. Star Trek in particular is referred to frequently, and Sheldon identifies strongly with

7956-466: The same time slot on September 22, 2008. With increasing ratings, the show received a two-year renewal through the 2010–11 season in 2009. In 2011, the show was picked up for three more seasons. In March 2014, the show was renewed again for three more years through the 2016–17 season. This marked the second time the series gained a three-year renewal. In March 2017, the series was renewed for two additional seasons, bringing its total to 12, and running through

8058-507: The season 9 premiere and remain happy. By the Season 9 finale, Penny and Leonard decide to have a second wedding ceremony for their family and friends, to make up for eloping. In season 10, Sheldon moves into Penny's old apartment with Amy, allowing Penny and Leonard to finally live on their own as husband and wife. In season 12, Penny announces that she does not want to have any children and Leonard reluctantly supports her decision. Later, her old boyfriend Zack and his new wife want Leonard to be

8160-508: The series holds a score of 61 out of 100, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. In 2013, TV Guide ranked the series #52 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. The Big Bang Theory started off slowly in the ratings, failing to make the top 50 in its first season (ranking 68th), and ranking 40th in its second season. When the third season premiered on September 21, 2009, however, The Big Bang Theory ranked as CBS's highest-rated show of that evening in

8262-452: The series opened strong, continuing the success gained in season six, with the second episode of the premiere, " The Deception Verification ", setting the new series high in viewers with 20.44 million. Showrunner Steve Molaro, who took over from Bill Prady with the sixth season, credits some of the show's success to the sitcom's exposure in off-network syndication , particularly on TBS , while Michael Schneider of TV Guide attributes it to

8364-610: The series). Although details of the syndication deal have not been revealed, it was reported the deal "set a record price for a cable off-network sitcom purchase". CTV holds national broadcast syndication rights in Canada, while sister cable network The Comedy Network holds cable rights. Warner Bros. Television controls the online rights for the show. Full episodes were available at tv.com , while short clips and recently aired full episodes were available on cbs.com and later in its run on CBS All Access . In Canada, recent episode(s) and pictures are available on CTV.ca. Additionally in Canada,

8466-406: The show for six seasons and attended every taping. He saw early versions of scripts that needed scientific information added to them, and he also pointed out where the writers, despite their knowledge of science, had made a mistake. He was usually not needed during a taping unless a lot of science, and especially the whiteboard, was involved. Saltzberg sometimes consulted with Mayim Bialik , who has

8568-472: The show has earned an estimated $ 1 billion in syndication fees alone for Televisa . Gliding On , a popular sitcom in New Zealand in the early 1980s, won multiple awards during its run including Best Comedy, Best Drama and Best Direction at the Feltex Awards . The first Russian sitcom series was "Strawberry", which resembled "Duty Pharmacy" in a Spanish format. It was aired from 1996 to 1997 on

8670-460: The sixth-season episode, "The 43 Peculiarity", Penny finally tells Leonard that she loves him. Although they both feel jealousy when the other receives significant attention from the opposite sex, Penny is secure in their relationship, even when he leaves on a four-month expedition to the North Sea in "The Bon Voyage Reaction". After he returns, the relationship blossoms over the seventh season. In

8772-410: The studio and producers threatened to write the characters out of the series if a deal could not be reached before the start of production on season eight. By season 10, Helberg and Nayyar reached the $ 1   million per episode parity with Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco, due to a clause in their deals signed in 2014. In March 2017, the main cast members (Galecki, Parsons, Cuoco, Helberg, and Nayyar) took

8874-437: The syndication ratings, receiving formidable competition from only Judge Judy and Wheel of Fortune ( first-run syndication programs). By the end of the 2012–13 television season, The Big Bang Theory had dethroned Judge Judy as the ratings leader in all of the syndicated programming with 7.1, Judy descending to second place for that season with a 7.0. The Big Bang Theory did not place first in syndication ratings for

8976-434: The term "sitcom" emerged as radio and TV adapted these principles into a new medium. The word was not commonly used until the 1950s. Early television sitcoms were often filmed in front of a live studio audience using a multiple-camera setup , the latter of which continues in some modern productions such as The Big Bang Theory and Fuller House . Other formats make use of a laugh track or "canned laughter". Since

9078-427: The timeslot move two seasons earlier. Chuck Lorre and CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler also credit the success to the influence of Molaro, in particular the deepening exploration of the firmly established regular characters and their interpersonal relationships, such as the on-again, off-again relationship between Leonard and Penny. Throughout much of the 2012–13 season, The Big Bang Theory placed first in all of

9180-427: Was Johnny and Jim. We rewrote the thing entirely, and then we were blessed with Kaley and Simon and Kunal." As to whether the world will ever see the original pilot on a future DVD release, Lorre said, "Wow, that would be something. We will see. Show your failures..." The first and second pilots of The Big Bang Theory were directed by James Burrows , who did not continue with the show. The reworked second pilot led to

9282-459: Was a semi-improvisational sitcom . The show was canceled, with only eleven episodes created. Her portrayal of Katie in the unaired pilot for the sitcom The Big Bang Theory was not well-received. However, the character was re-written and Walsh was replaced by Kaley Cuoco (as Penny ) in the second pilot. In 2007, she had a role in the ABC movie Full of It as Vicki Sanders. In 2008, Walsh had

9384-437: Was an increase from the $ 175,000–$ 200,000 the duo had been making per episode. Much of the series focuses on science, particularly physics. The four main male characters are employed at Caltech and have science-related occupations, as do Bernadette and Amy. The characters frequently banter about scientific theories or news (notably around the start of the show ) and make science-related jokes. Science has also interfered with

9486-638: Was announced that Nine had acquired the rights to Season 1–8. In May 2010, it was reported that the show had been picked up for syndication , mainly among Fox 's owned and operated stations and other local stations, with Warner Bros. Television's sister cable network TBS holding the show's cable syndication rights. Broadcast of old episodes began airing in September 2011. TBS now airs the series in primetime on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, with evening broadcasts on Saturdays (TBS's former local sister station in Atlanta also holds local weeknight rights to

9588-874: Was criticized by several social commentators as inappropriately disrespectful to the office of the Prime Minister. The show nevertheless proved very popular with both television audiences and critics, becoming the most-watched Australian scripted comedy series of 2011. It was nominated at the 2012 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards for Best Television Comedy Series. Although there have been several notable exceptions, relatively few Canadian sitcoms attained notable success in Canada or internationally. Canadian television has had much greater success with sketch comedy and dramedy series. The popular show King of Kensington aired from 1975 to 1980, at its peak garnering an average of 1.5 to 1.8 million viewers weekly. The 1999 movie Trailer Park Boys

9690-631: Was experimenting with rocket fuel. In the penultimate episode of the series, the elevator is returned to an operational state, causing Sheldon some angst, until he realizes that the fixed elevator reverted things to the "status quo". Like most shows created by Chuck Lorre, The Big Bang Theory ends by showing for one second a vanity card written by Lorre after the credits, followed by the Warner Bros. Television closing logo. These cards are archived on Lorre's website. The series' final vanity card reads simply "The End". The Big Bang Theory premiered in

9792-477: Was filmed in front of a live audience and produced by Chuck Lorre Productions , with Warner Bros. Television handling distribution. It received mixed reviews throughout its first season, but reception was more favorable in the second and third seasons. Despite early mixed reviews, seven seasons were ranked within the top ten of the final season ratings, and it ultimately reached the No. 1 spot in its eleventh season. It

9894-530: Was followed up by a television series of the same name that ran from 2001 to 2018, airing in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Corner Gas , which ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009, became an instant hit, averaging one million viewers per episode. It has been the recipient of six Gemini Awards and has been nominated almost 70 times for various awards. Other noteworthy recent sitcoms have included: Call Me Fitz , Schitt's Creek , Letterkenny , and Kim's Convenience , all of which have been winners of

9996-641: Was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series from 2011 to 2014 and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series four times for Parsons, totaling seven Emmy Awards from 46 nominations. Parsons also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series in 2011. The series' success launched a multimedia franchise. A prequel series, titled Young Sheldon and based on Parsons' character Sheldon Cooper, aired from 2017 to 2024, with Parsons reprising his role as

10098-559: Was the highest rating for a first episode in the history of Australian television, until the series premiere of Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities in 2009, which garnered 2.58 million viewers. In 2013, Please Like Me received an invitation to screen at the Series Mania Television Festival in Paris, was praised by critics, and earned numerous awards and nominations. Also in 2013, At Home with Julia

10200-546: Was the most-watched show on Mexican television and had a Latin-American audience of 350 million viewers per episode at its popularity peak during the mid-1970s. The show continues to be popular in Central America as well as in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Spain, the United States, and other countries. Syndicated episodes average 91 million daily viewers in all its American markets. Since it ceased production in 1992,

10302-409: Was the second pilot produced for the show. A different pilot was produced for the 2006–07 television season but never aired. The structure of the original unaired pilot was different from the series' current form. The only main characters retained in both pilots were Leonard ( Johnny Galecki ) and Sheldon ( Jim Parsons ), who are named after Sheldon Leonard , a longtime figure in episodic television as

10404-432: Was too embarrassed to admit that he could not make it on his own, Amy accepts that he is not perfect. In "The Prom Equivalency", Sheldon hides in his room to avoid going to a mock prom reenactment with her. In the resulting standoff, Amy is about to confess that she loves Sheldon, but he surprises her by saying that he loves her too. This prompts Amy to have a panic attack. In the season-eight finale, Sheldon and Amy get into

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