When Will the Series Finale of the Big Bang Theory Air Again

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[This story contains spoilers from the serial finale of the Large Bang Theory.]

CBS' The Big Blindside Theory ended Th just equally it started.

Television'due south longest-running multicamera comedy in history wrapped after 12 seasons with the sense that life goes on for its honey characters.

For Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco), it meant new adventures (parenthood). For Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy (Mayim Bialik), it meant personal growth after they won the Nobel Prize in physics and each handled information technology in different ways (past regressing socially and getting a makeover, respectively). And for others — married couple Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and perennially unmarried Raj (Kunal Nayyar) — information technology really was about being content with the lives and families that they've built.

The Big Bang Theory has never been a show that plotted out its storylines well into the season, allow alone a series finale. But Th'southward two-role serial finale establish a way to provide a fulfilling sense of closure as well as emotionally satisfying moments that illustrated its characters' slow and steady personal growth and development. What's more than, producers besides paid off several of the comedy's long-running jokes (the elevator!) and sneak in one final geek-tastic cameo.

Beneath, Lorre, former showrunner and exec producer Steve Molaro and current showrunner Steve The netherlands talk with The Hollywood Reporter about saying bye to The Large Bang Theory, those big surprises and why they opted for such an emotional good day. Click here to read THR'south interviews with the bandage about how their storylines concluded.

How long was this the catastrophe that you had in listen? Was this always the idea?

Lorre: I had a couple of different things in mind, merely this was far better than anything I could have presented. Credit for this finale has to go to Steve Holland and the writing staff. They proposed a finale that was centered on emotional closure in the characters' lives, in their relationships and in them growing every bit individuals and in their lives expanding. I was struck past how elegant that was and I jumped on lath. Information technology was better than anything I might have had in my head. And while there is quite a bit of story with the Nobel Prize and the pregnancy elements, it's a lot of grapheme material there that took the finale in a different direction. It made the finale almost the characters equally opposed some big cataclysmic ending or everybody packing their bags and moving out and going different places. There is nothing wrong with that approach but this felt much more rewarding for us. I love the way it ended.

Holland:Knowing it was the end, nosotros'd been talking about where we wanted to see these characters land. The show has never been plot-heavy and, for united states of america as fans of these characters, it didn't experience right or necessary for united states of america to do a heavy finale like that and put a "the end" postage on all these stories. Information technology was important to feel like their lives and their friendships went on. That was our starting place of how nosotros wanted to build this finale.

There was a sense of life going on for these characters, who return dwelling house and take Chinese food in the flat to a great scene with an acoustic version of the bear witness's theme song. Was in that location ever a indicate where you were tempted to offer a more resolved conclusion for these characters?

Molaro: No. I mean there were bigger goodbye ideas that floated up hither and there but the biggest philosophical drive that we landed on pretty early on was this show makes a lot of people happy, these characters brand a lot of people happy, they brand u.s. really happy. We wanted to know that tomorrow morning time they were going to drive to work together and have dinner together and while the prove was saying adieu, the characters weren't. Philosophically, that was the near of import role of the finale rather than putting giant bows on everybody's storylines.

The finale focused on Sheldon's growth — specifically, how in the past he'd accept two steps forward and one stride back. And later winning the Nobel, he very much regressed before having this massive breakthrough on the biggest stage of his life.

Kingdom of the netherlands:We knew about the Nobel Prize, and we knew that's what we were driving toward. And it did feel like a moment where Sheldon could regress a little fleck because this is a thing he has wanted since he was a kid. So, of all the moments to make all about himself, it felt perfectly natural that he would endeavor to hold and so tightly onto this moment every bit existence near himself. He realized at the end that it wasn't about himself, and he took that moment that he has wanted his whole life and, instead of turning the spotlight on himself, he turned it on this grouping of people without whom he would never have been where he was. He would never have been who he was. Information technology felt similar a cracking way to honor this whole ensemble and the journey of this show.

Knowing that there were a few times over the years where you weren't sure if the evidence would come dorsum for additional seasons, how much has this finale changed over the years?

Holland:The finale has certainly changed. If we had talked about it in season six, it certainly is a different finale than it is now.

Molaro:If nosotros knew it was ending last yr, the bear witness certainly could have ended on the Sheldon and Amy nuptials. I'chiliad glad that it didn't and I'1000 glad that we got to go as far as we did. But there have been stopping points that would have felt natural in some fashion over the years.

Outside of Sheldon and Amy's wedding ceremony, were there whatsoever other episodes or moments in the finale that you lot'd had earmarked for the serial finale over the years?

Molaro: I don't know how much we ever really spoke almost a finale until nosotros knew it was coming for real. We were in the fortunate position to know pretty early on in this season and had a goal in mind as nosotros thought virtually how nosotros wanted to country it.

And there were a couple cerise herrings this season with Leonard and Penny briefly discussing if they wanted to have children and considering moving away. Were you tempted before this season to explore what pregnancy would be similar for Leonard and Penny? Walk us through the conclusion to do that in the series finale.

Kingdom of the netherlands: Leonard and Penny had been talking almost having children — and the decision non to — this season.Their relationship was really the jumping off bespeak of this whole show and it felt important to u.s. to laurels that relationship. I dear them together and I wanted to know that they were ending in a happy identify. Steve [Molaro] and I talked near it and he is the one who pitched that moment and that surprise revelation in the finale. Information technology felt like a keen mode to land these characters and like such a surprise coming off what their storyline had been.

Molaro: I like that we were able to jump over a lot of the pregnancy tropes and learn after the fact that Penny is 2 months meaning. We did that [two-month] jump in fourth dimension and she's nonetheless wrapping her caput around it considering Penny wasn't certain how she felt about it. I'm really happy that we were able to arrive a straight nod to the pilot in Sheldon's last oral communication, too.

Right! Sheldon says in his Nobel speech, "their babies volition be smart and beautiful" — which is what Leonard says to Sheldon in the pilot after he starting time meets Penny. That was only one nod to some of the show's inside jokes that you paid off in the finale, including the elevator working, why Leonard ever used to wear hoodies, seeing Howard and Bernadette's children for the beginning time and the render of Amy's famed tiara. Was there anything else y'all wanted to fit in just couldn't, like Howard's father or Penny'south maiden name?

Holland: The shape of the way the elevator opened was going to come differently when nosotros were originally talking well-nigh it. The reveal of the Leonard and Penny's pregnancy was going to happen a bit differently. Every bit we got into the thick of breaking these stories out, those pieces evolved and I think the fashion they landed is mode better than the mode nosotros started talking about them.

Amy, afterwards winning the Nobel, decides to get a makeover. Why was that something you lot wanted to explore now? Mayim said this was entirely the writers' idea.

The netherlands: When you accept a long-running show, you want the characters to change only you can't push them as well far because you still have to keep doing episodes week later week. But coming to the end, we could really start to push these characters. Leonard had some big changes in the last few episodes [including forging a new relationship with his female parent and clearing that baggage] leading upward to the finale and this felt like a smashing change for Amy'south character, to give her that moment. When nosotros went to Mayim and we asked, "How would you experience most getting your hair cut, considering we have this story thought?" She got so excited and asked if she could cutting her hair! She couldn't believe we were serious. It worked out very nicely.

Raj and Anu bankrupt upwards in last week's episode and he wound upwards with a encounter-cute with Sarah Michelle Gellar. Why leave his storyline then open-ended?

Lorre:With Sarah, information technology felt like a wonderful style to add together some one-act to what was otherwise a very serious scene at the awards ceremony. Considering of the style this finale was presented by Steve Holland, we didn't feel like information technology was necessarily to have some big story closure for every character. That felt forced and somewhat unnecessary because sometimes big things don't happen to everybody all at one time unless y'all're forcing information technology into a series finale. And that didn't feel realistic. It didn't experience like a comfortable way to go. And so Raj's story merely remains open up.

Holland:And then many ideas were talked virtually; everything was fair game and on the board going into early this year talking about what the finale could be and Raj finding his person was certainly one of them. Nosotros simply felt we didn't demand to necktie upwards everything in a bow. Their lives were notwithstanding going on. We gave him a fun and emotional closure in episode 22 with him and Howard [at the airport when Raj is tempted to movement to London for Anu]. It felt OK to go out him still searching for love — and I believe that he ultimately will find information technology someday. but we didn't experience the need to have to show it.

Molaro: And I think this show started with these iv guys all single. To honor the bones of the series, it's OK that somebody still hasn't found the right person.

How did the Sarah Michelle Gellar cameo come together?

Holland:When we were breaking out the finale and knew that they were flying to Stockholm, we knew that Raj wouldn't have anyone sitting next to him. Chuck thought it was a fun opportunity to have him sit next to someone fun and that it would exist a good chance to do something fun hither at the finish. As we started talking about who that could exist, nosotros landed on Sarah Michelle. I accept been a huge Buffy fan for years. I've rewatched that show probably more than whatever other. And a lot of the writers are big Buffy fans, too. It seemed similar a cool cameo that felt real to this earth and to these characters. Chuck spoke to her on the phone and at the beginning [of the phone call], she said her family loves Big Bang Theory. Then information technology was just a matter of working out scheduling.

Is at that place a theme you promise viewers take away after watching the finale — and ultimately, of the series as a whole?

Lorre: From the very starting time, the goal was really uncomplicated: to cause laughter. That'south why nosotros made the bear witness and why we wanted to build a show around these characters. I love the characters because, despite how intelligent they were, they felt left out. They felt similar outsiders looking through the glass at life going on without them. They were outliers — and that'south a very mutual feeling; fifty-fifty the queen of the prom might experience like that in private moments. One of the things we did, probably by accident simply then it became something we were witting of, was these characters ate together all the fourth dimension, which is what a family used to do. And that's actually inviting. 1 of the things that was really inherent to the success of Cheers was that these people weren't related to one another just they clung to each other like a family unit. That happened on the Big Blindside Theory. The characters aren't related only they carry and operate like a family fifty-fifty to the point of making each other miserable. But no thing what, they created a surrogate family. That underlies the comedy and may ultimately exist more of import than the jokes.

What practice you see every bit Big Bang'due south legacy?

Lorre:I couldn't speak to its legacy. I'm too close to it. I just know that I loved being a part of this. I'chiliad proud and grateful for it. I'm deeply pitiful that it's over. Equally to its legacy, I'll allow that be for other people to determine — if that's a affair y'all decide nearly a situation comedy.

The netherlands: Its legacy isn't up to us. I hope that it has moved the culture of scientific discipline in a skilful way. Ultimately, I promise that information technology's a show that brought people a lot of comfort and laughs and that they can look dorsum on it or revisit it in reruns and get those aforementioned warm feelings again.

Molaro: I would like to think that this testify managed to move the needle even just a little bit on the tolerance of anybody who is different.

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Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/big-bang-theory-series-finale-explained-chuck-lorre-how-it-ended-1211557/