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Time of India
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Kunal Nayyar admits he couldn't stop laughing on The Big Bang Theory set
Fans of The Big Bang Theory found the hit sitcom endlessly hilarious—and as it turns out, so did the cast, especially Kunal Nayyar. In a candid chat on The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast that premiered Monday, May 12, Nayyar, 44, revealed he often struggled to keep a straight face while filming as his beloved character, Raj Koothrappali. Speaking to host Jessica Radloff, the actor admitted he broke character 'all of the time' during the show's early seasons. 'I was the worst in the beginning on the show,' Nayyar confessed. 'I broke all the time. It really pissed everyone off, but I couldn't help it. I don't know why.' With a witty script and a cast known for their razor-sharp comedic timing, Nayyar's challenge is understandable. The actor specifically pointed out that filming scenes with co-star Simon Helberg, who played his on-screen best friend Howard Wolowitz, made it nearly impossible to stay composed. 'Simon and I just had this thing,' Nayyar said, laughing. 'He would do something with his face or the way he delivered a line—and boom, I'd lose it.' The Big Bang Theory, which ran for 12 seasons on CBS, featured a stellar ensemble cast including Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter, Kaley Cuoco as Penny, Melissa Rauch as Bernadette Rostenkowski, and Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler. The show was known for its geeky charm, sharp humor, and heartwarming friendships, which clearly extended behind the scenes. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Co-Founder of Google Brain, Andrew Ng, Recommends: "These 5 Books Will Turn Your Life Around" Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo While multiple takes may have delayed production at times, Nayyar's laughter highlights the genuine joy and camaraderie shared among the cast—a key ingredient to the show's long-standing success. For fans, this behind-the-scenes glimpse adds another layer of affection for a sitcom that continues to live on in syndication and streaming.
New York Post
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Sara Gilbert claims ‘Big Bang Theory' writers ‘hit a wall' with her character: ‘I would have done more at that time'
It ended not with a bang but with a whimper. Sara Gilbert, who played Dr. Leslie Winkle on 'The Big Bang Theory,' still has questions about her character's ending. During an appearance on The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast, host Jessica Radloff asked if Gilbert would have done more episodes, or if she'd be open to starring in the show's new spinoff. Advertisement 'Yeah I would do more. I would have done more at the time,' Gilbert replied. 'I think the writers kind of hit a wall with the character, probably also because she leaves these dynamics quickly, you know, then kind of like, well, what do you do now? She's wired like that, and she left, and then there's no more story there, really.' She added, 'But yeah it was a blast, and I like to work, so I'm always happy to show up.' Advertisement 8 Sara Gilbert in 'The Hamburger Postulate' episode of 'The Big Bang Theory.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection 8 Jim Parsons, Mayim Bialik, Kunal Nayyar, Sara Gilbert, Kevin Sussman and Adam West in 'The Big Bang Theory.' CBS via Getty Images 8 Sara Gilbert attends Searchlight Pictures Post Oscars Celebration at Cipriani Beverly Hills on March 02, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. Getty Images for Searchlight Pictures Leslie was an experimental physicist who worked in the same lab as Leonard (Johnny Galecki). The two had a 'friends with benefits' relationship. Advertisement She appeared in Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 9. The show ran for twelve seasons, from 2007 to 2019. It spawned two spinoffs: 'Young Sheldon,' which aired for seven seasons from 2017 to 2024, and 'Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage,' which premiered in October and has been renewed for a second season. Gilbert's last appearance on the show was in the landmark 200th episode, called 'The Celebration Experimentation,' where she came to Sheldon (Jim Parson's) birthday party and called him a 'dumbass.' 8 Kunal Nayyar, Kaley Cuoco, Adam West, Simon Helberg and Johnny Galecki Standing left to right: Mayim Bialik, Sara Gilbert, Kevin Sussman, Jim Parsons, Melissa Rauch, Wil Wheaton, Christine Baranski and John Ross Bowie in 'The Celebration Experimentation.' CBS via Getty Images Advertisement 8 Sara Gilbert and Johnny Galecki on 'The Big Bang Theory.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection In Radloff's book 'The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series,' executive producer Steve Molaro said about Leslie, 'We wanted love interests for Leonard and were just looking for stories. It was also a great way to add female scientists, because Leslie was at the university as well.' Series creator Chuck Lorre already had a history with Gilbert from 'Roseanne.' Galecki also played Gilbert's love interest on that show, and the actors briefly dated in real life. 'But we were never looking for a permanent, everlasting relationship for Leonard because we always thought he would date Penny [Kaley Cuoco] on and off,' he explained. 'We weren't looking to find a permanent girlfriend for him. We were adding characters and seeing what worked and what was leading to fun stories.' 8 Sara Gilbert and Johnny Galecki on 'The Big Bang Theory.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection 8 Sara Gilbert and Johnny Galecki on 'The Big Bang Theory.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection 8 Sara Gilbert at Cipriani Beverly Hills on March 02, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. Getty Images for Searchlight Pictures There's reportedly a fourth 'Big Bang Theory' spinoff show in the works for Max. Advertisement According to Deadline, it will be called 'Stuart Fails to Save the Universe' and will center around the character Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman).
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Big Bang Theory's Chuck Lorre Gets Real About Making Mistakes With Kaley Cuoco's Penny Before Realizing Her ‘Brilliance'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It's been over 17 years since The Big Bang Theory premiered, and almost six years since it ended, but the CBS sitcom remains one of the best shows streaming on Max, and its universe continues to expand with a new spinoff. Part of the reason is certainly the fans who continue watching, but it's also the fact that Big Bang's cast and characters were positively perfect, at least over time. Creator Chuck Lorre previously opened up about the mistakes he made with Kaley Cuoco's Penny before realizing her brilliance. While initially serving as just Leonard and Sheldon's neighbor from across the hall, Penny certainly grew into something bigger than that. And not just because she wound up marrying Leonard later in the series. Lorre spoke about the unaired pilot while on The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast and how they really tried to figure out the characters before officially moving ahead, but it took some time for a lightbulb to go off when it came to Penny's 'dumb blonde' personality: Even after the second pilot, we had so many episodes to go before we started to understand that there was a brilliance to Penny's character that we had not explored. We did the very cliché goofy blonde, you know, who says foolish things. It's a cliched character: the dumb blonde. And we missed it. We didn't have that right away that what she brought to this story, this series, to these other characters, was an intelligence that they didn't have, a kind of intelligence that was alien to them, an intelligence about people and relationships and family. Even though Penny wasn't intelligent by her friends' means, she was definitely intelligent in other fields, and she proved to be quite an asset at some points. It also gave Lorre and the writers to really dig deeper into her character and move beyond the 'dumb blonde' cliché, proving that she wasn't inherently dumb at all, just maybe not as smart as others in most areas of educated life. Which made it all the more fun to see her excel where everyone else couldn't when it came to pop culture, relationships, or fashion. Plus, she introduced Sheldon, Leonard, and everyone else to a whole new ballgame, even if sports wasn't part of it: It was built in that the scientists of the show didn't understand how to be with people. She did. She brought a humanity to them that they were lacking, and that took a while to figure out. Certainly, in the beginning, she was sadly one-dimensional in many ways, but the gift of a TV series that starts working is you get time to learn. It might have taken a bit for the writers to fully realize what they could do with Penny in the early days — which fans can stream with a Max subscription — but when they started playing to her strengths, it really worked out. As proven by one scene in an episode in which Penny quizzes Sheldon on celebrities and Sheldon quizzes Penny on math and science. Yet another reason why their friendship was certainly underrated, and why Jm Parsons and Cuoco still remain close. But once it was clear that she wasn't all dumb and not just an aspiring actress, it worked in her favor. Penny grew into a beloved character and brought the charm and sass when needed, along with the street smarts, and it was all because of Kaley Cuoco. CBS initially hated the original Penny actress, but they knew that there was something special about Penny, all it took was the right actress. Cuoco ended up becoming the show's secret sauce and it landed her a career-making role, and it's hard to imagine how different things would be if not only Cuoco didn't play the part but if Penny continued to be just another dumb blonde. Whether or not Penny will be making a comeback for the upcoming Big Bang Theory spinoff is unknown, as it would be fun to see her again and see how she's doing now. At the very least, it's possible fans will be getting some updates on other characters. For now, though, all seasons of Big Bang are streaming on Max.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The 'Big Bang Theory' Creator Just Lifted The Lid On The Show's 'Sexual' And 'Risqué' Scrapped Pilot Episode, And My Jaw Is On The Floor
If you're a fan of The Big Bang Theory, you might know that the show initially premiered with an entirely different pilot episode. As far as most people are aware, the first episode of the series introduces main characters Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), as well as Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), and Rajesh 'Raj' Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar). However, a year prior, TBBT debuted with an unaired original pilot that only featured Sheldon and Leonard's characters from those listed above. The episode also featured Amanda Walsh portraying a character named Katie, while Iris Bahr played a woman named Gilda. Fast-forward to today, and the masterminds behind Big Bang have shared a ton of details about the unaired 2006 pilot. Speaking on Jessica Radloff's new The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast this week, co-creator Chuck Lorre sat down with former chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, Peter Roth, for a candid conversation about the sitcom's early days. Describing the unaired pilot as '22 minutes of mistakes,' Chuck admitted that the episode — which opened with Sheldon and Leonard in a sperm bank — was largely influenced by the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, which he was also producing at the time. 'The first pilot was so heavily influenced by Two and a Half Men,' he said before later adding, 'The Big Bang, even the second pilot, had elements that were unnecessarily risqué… It took a while to learn that this wasn't this show, this wasn't these characters.' 'The sexual stuff had to go,' he said. 'I was late in understanding that this show [and these characters] didn't tolerate risqué humor.' 'It wasn't 'til the second season that I started to understand that Sheldon was asexual. I didn't understand that going in when we did the pilot,' Chuck continued. The group went on to reveal that Sheldon had sex with Gilda in the unaired pilot and that he had a preference 'for women with big buttocks.' Peter shared, 'In the first pilot, we discover that Sheldon has a predilection for women with big buttocks. And we discover that he has had sexual exploits. He has had coitus. None of that exists in the second pilot. That shift and change into the more innocent quality of that character was extraordinarily wise.' Elsewhere on the podcast, Chuck and Peter discussed how amazingly Kaley's character, Penny, complemented the guys. 'She was never judgmental about these characters. She was bemused by them. In fact, they brought more judgement to her than she did ever of them,' Peter shared. 'And I thought that was also an important difference between the character of what Penny brought versus the character of what Katie brought in the original unaired pilot.' 'There was a sweetness and endearment that she felt towards them. The audience wanted to protect these two boys,' he added. However, it took the Big Bang producers a moment to realize Penny's worth. Chuck admitted that 'so many episodes' were shot before the team understood that there was 'a brilliance to Penny's character' that they hadn't explored. 'We did the very clichéd in the beginning, you know, goofy blonde who says foolish things. It's a clichéd character, right? The dumb blonde. And we missed it. We didn't have that right away that what she brought to this series, to these other characters, was an intelligence that they didn't have…that was alien to them, you know, intelligence about people and relationships and family,' he said. 'It was built in that the scientists of the show didn't understand how to be with people. She did. She brought a humanity to them that they were lacking, and that took a while to figure out. Certainly, in the beginning, she was sadly one-dimensional in many ways.' Interestingly, Penny's initial lack of development beyond her 'goofy' persona and sex appeal is something that has been discussed — and critiqued — by Big Bang viewers for years. Back in 2021, Kaley opened up about how her character's outfits were super sexualized early on in the show during a chat with W magazine. 'I started Big Bang at 21 years old,' she said, per Digital Spy. 'I was the cute girl next door to the nerds. It was all about booty shorts, Juicy Couture zip-ups.' 'And as the years went on, Penny grows up, Kaley grows up. All of a sudden, it's like, 'Can I have a long sleeve shirt? How about a slack? How about a loafer? I never wanna see that high heel again!'' she said. Kaley, now 39, also said, 'That was so long ago. When I think about how many years ago that was... it was a different time,' before adding: 'Also, by the way, at 21, I was hot. I wanted to show that stuff off. You would not catch me dead in a sexy cat costume now!' You can listen to the full episode of The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast here. More on this 9 Times TV Shows Had Drastically Different Pilots That Never Actually AiredMary Colussi · May 31, 2021 Kaley Cuoco Talked About Filming "Big Bang Theory" Sex Scenes With Her Ex Johnny GaleckiNora Dominick · Nov. 12, 2020 Kaley Cuoco Revealed She "Freaked Out" Over Leaving Her "Big Bang Theory" Salary Behind When It Ended After Admitting It Changed Her LifeEllie Woodward · March 5, 2021
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Big Bang Theory' Co-Creator Chuck Lorre Calls Kaley Cuoco's Penny ‘Sadly One-Dimensional' Early In Sitcom: 'Took A While To Figure Out'
The Big Bang Theory may be defying the laws of TV mechanics with its storied success, but there's one thing co-creator Chuck Lorre said the series 'missed' early on with regard to Kaley Cuoco's character Penny. In the first episode of The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast opposite former Warner Bros. Television Group chairman and CEO Peter Roth, Lorre — who also co-created Two and a Half Men — discussed the failed unaired pilot of the sitcom and being given a 'do-over' following penning a 'sh—-y' script alongside collaborator Bill Prady. More from Deadline 'The Sex Lives of College Girls' Done At Max After 3 Seasons, Exploring New Home For Season 4 2025 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming Harry Potter Continues To Cast Spell Over Global Audiences As First Movie Enters British Streaming Exports List 2024 The original inaugural episode featured two female main characters, Katie (Amanda Walsh) and Gilda (Iris Bahr), before Kaley Cuoco eventually stepped in as the lead following a rewrite and retaping of what would become the second and aired pilot a year later. 'The magic of Kaley was, Kaley's character — as we figured this thing out on the fly — was amused by [Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki's characters], was not critical. If she got angry, it wasn't harsh. The audience really responded to that,' Lorre explained. He added, 'She was never judgmental about these characters. She was bemused by them, in fact. They brought more judgement to her than she did ever of them. And I thought that was also an important difference between the character of what Penny brought versus the character of what Katie brought in the original unaired pilot.' Despite the dynamic element and heart Penny brought to socially inept brainiacs Sheldon Cooper (Parsons) and Leonard (Galecki), Lorre admitted that he didn't fully grasp Penny's complexity from the get-go. 'Even after the second pilot, we had so many episodes to go before we started to understand that there was a brilliance to Penny's character that we had not explored,' he said, adding that early episodes depicted her as a 'goofy blonde who says foolish things.' The prolific TV writer/producer continued, 'It's a cliched character: the dumb blonde, and we missed it. We didn't have that right away that what she brought to this story, this series, to these other characters was an intelligence that they didn't have. A kind of intelligence that was alien to them, an intelligence about people and relationships and family.' In concluding, he said, 'She brought a humanity to them that they were lacking. And that took a while to figure out. Certainly, in the beginning she was sadly one-dimensional in many ways, but the gift of a TV series that starts working is you get time to learn.' Lorre's comments seem to allude to discussions around the show's misogynistic tone in certain moments, which have percolated for years. However, for her part, Cuoco said last year that she would 'absolutely reprise' the character. She stated, 'I spent 12 years playing that role, and it really set off my career. I owe a lot to that character, to that show, to Chuck Lorre. It was some of the best years of my life, and some of the most fun I've ever had.' With 10 Emmys in tow, the popular CBS sitcom — which ran for 12 seasons from 2007 through 2019 to become the longest-running multi-cam series in television history — has spawned equally beloved offshoot Young Sheldon, focusing on Sheldon Cooper's youth with Iain Armitage in the role, which ended in early 2024 after seven seasons. Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage, featuring Montana Jordan and Emily Osment in the title roles, premiered on CBS in October, from Chuck Lorre Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, where Lorre is under an overall deal. A Max spinoff — with Lorre at the helm — is also beginning to take shape as original series alumni Kevin Sussman, Brian Posehn, Lauren Lapkus and, most recently John Ross Bowie, signed talent-holding deals with WBTV with the intention to star in the forthcoming show. However, the project remains in early development and is still without a greenlight as the script is still being completed. Best of Deadline James Mangold's 'A Complete Unknown': Everything We Know About The Bob Dylan Biopic So Far 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery Epic Universe: The Latest Images Of The New Universal Orlando Theme Park
