Max doesn’t have a Netflix-style “most popular” ranking, but if it did, The Big Bang Theory would probably place very high on the all-time TV list. The sitcom, created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, was a huge hit over the course of its 12-season run on CBS, and based on the impressive ratings of prequel series Young Sheldon, it remains massively popular. So would you be surprised to learn that Max is working on a new The Big Bang Theory show? Bazinga!
Here’s everything we know about The Big Bang Theory spinoff, including plot details and returning cast members.
Plot
In April 2023, we learned that The Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre is “developing a new comedy series” in The Big Bang Theory universe. “It is believed to be an hour-long series featuring a mostly new cast with potential for known Big Bang stars to appear in guest spots,” Variety reported at the time. Well, it’s over a year and a half later, and that’s still all we know (with the exception of some casting developments, as seen below).
If the spinoff (The Bigger Bang Theory?) ends up making it to Max, it will be the fourth show in the franchise after the original series, Young Sheldon, and the upcoming Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage.
The Big Bang Theory ended in 2019 after Jim Parsons, who played Sheldon Cooper, decided it was time to retire The Flash shirt. “There was no factor; there was no situation that I was like, ‘Well, I’ve had enough of that.’ No. There was nothing like that. It was just… when you know, you know,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “And you’re susceptible and thrown around by the whims of your own existence and getting to a certain age and your life changes and suddenly you just think different.”
Lorre had no interest in continuing the show without Parsons — or anyone in the main cast (including a future Jeopardy! host). “I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of going on without the whole ensemble — and the whole ensemble is why we succeeded,” he said. “In pulling it apart and re-approaching it as a fraction of what it was just never felt right to me. I’ve seen other shows try and fail to take a character out of their realm and carry on.”
Cast
The Big Bang Theory starred Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Sara Gilbert, Mayim Bialik, and Melissa Rauch. As of this moment, none of those highly-paid actors are returning for the spinoff.
But there will be some familiar faces: Kevin Sussman (who played The Comic Center of Pasadena owner Stuart Bloom), the lovable Brian Posehn (Caltech professor Bert Kibbler), and Comedy Bang Bang legend Lauren Lapkus (comic book store assistant manager and Stuart’s love interest, Denise) will all reprise their roles. More names should be announced soon.
Release Date
The Big Bang Theory offshoot doesn’t have a release date, but the Young Sheldon spinoff (yes, it’s a spinoff of a prequel), Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage, debuts on Thursday, October 17, on CBS. Here’s a trailer.
Trailer
Once more, with feeling: bazinga.