The Big Bang Theory
It was touch and go for a while there, but fear not, The Big Bang Theory will return, not only for Season 11, but also for Season 12!
Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar have all signed contracts to continue on the show. Negotiations for Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik are still ongoing, but are said to being close to a deal. Rauch & Bialik’s contracts have been a little trickier than the original cast, as they didn’t join the show until season 3. This left quite a large (i.e. gaping chasm) of pay disparity between them and the original 5. Given they are as much an integral part of the cast at this point, they’ve been arguing (I think quite rightly) that the paycheck should reflect that.
All this looks to be pushing the average price of an episode to $10 million, but US network CBS have deemed it to be worth the cost. Given Big Bang is the most-watched, and highest rated scripted series on US TV right now, that’s no great surprise! CBS Entertainment President, Glenn Geller, did comment recently “We’ll put it on for as long as everyone wants Big Bang on the air, I hope it lasts forever.”
That’s not to say the network isn’t working on a way of extending the franchise, for when the inevitable end does arrive. CBS recently greenlit the spin-off Young Sheldon, which will follow the 9yr old boy genius dealing with growing up in rural East Texas, and his less than genius family.
The Big Bang Theory airs on E4 in the UK, and you can catch season 10 on Thursday nights at 8.30pm
