Big Bang Theory Creators Considered Continuing On Without Jim Parsons
When it was revealed that The Big Bang Theory was coming to an end after 12 seasons, fans were surprised and disappointed.
Later on, it became clear that one of the main reasons for this abrupt end was, in fact, Jim Parsons who had decided to move on. And as he was such a huge part of the show and its success, it would've been hard to imagine it without him. But even though it was decided that the megahit sitcom wouldn't continue without Parsons, they did consider it!
It was the summer before the 12th season of TBBT when Jim Parsons made the decision to step down from his role as Sheldon Cooper and start a new chapter in his life.
Although some of his castmates felt blindsided, Parsons admitted that his decision didn't have anything to do with the show itself but that a personal tragedy sparked the desire to move on to other things.
Taking into account the sitcom's tremendous success, everyone has been left wondering if there was any intent to continue the show without Parsons.
After he told the showrunners that this would be his final season, he thought the producers would, at the very least, try to keep the sitcom running. He didn't expect to find out that keeping the series up without him, or anyone else for that matter, was not a possibility in the creators' minds.
Having said that, TBBT creators did consider the idea. Showrunner Chuck Lorre revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that doing the show without any of the main characters in it wasn't something that he would have personally liked to do.
He also clarified that he didn't want to explain away the absence of a major character and that it wasn't something that could be pulled apart, put back together again and bring the same results as it did before.
However, he thought about the possibility of carrying on if that's what everyone wanted because he never felt it was his place to stand in the way of the sitcom.
"It's the tank in Tiananmen Square. I'm not the guy to stand in front of it. Proceed. If they wanted to keep going, I would've said "God bless." It's hundreds of people that are making a living on this show. You don't want to stop that," he revealed.