The Big Bang Theory Revival is Totally Possible, But There's a Catch
Running from 2007 to 2019, Big Bang Theory was one of the most popular sitcoms of the past decade. It won ten Emmys, popularized the word Bazinga! and was consistently one of the highest-watched shows on TV.
Like many beloved sitcoms, rumblings of a revival have been floating around.
A lot of sitcoms have done revivals or reunions, always a little bit different. Full House and Boy Meets World came back with many of the same actors, with the original young actors replacing the parent roles of the original stars. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was reborn as a modern-day drama with a similar plot.
Kaley Cuoco, who stars as Penny, cited the Friends well-received reunion as a format to bring the cast together one more time. She said to Variety Magazine that she'd love to emulate what Friends had done, shooting a special with clips, quizzes, and memories of the popular show.
Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady – the minds behind Big Bang Theory – had another idea.
Lorre and Prady were interviewed by Entertainment Weekly to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the show's first season. They, too, would enjoy bringing back the original cast one last time as the characters, but they thought the finale they'd made was too perfect. The closure was so astonishing, they're not sure how a revival could happen.
"I know that people do get characters together for reunions and things like that," Prady says. "But It's hard to imagine what you would see after the finale because I found the finale was just one of the most beautiful and satisfying episodes. The closure it brought was astonishing. It's hard to imagine reopening the story."
If it were to be recreated, the two said they'd want to see Sheldon Cooper dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The show ended one year before the pandemic began, so fans never got to see the character's reaction to it.
Lorre said that Jim Parson's Sheldon would've absolutely loved it. Sheldon was notoriously against crowds and dealing with people in general – he would have been happy to be secluded at home, avoiding the world. Prady added that Sheldon's germaphobia would have added to the hilarity. He's a self-proclaimed germ expert, so people would have had to take him seriously – right?
Prady also said that a pandemic episode based around Sheldon and Bernadette – a microbiologist – would have been great. Prady even thought of a theoretical scene in which Bernadette shouts at Sheldon in her notoriously high-pitched scream when he tries to explain her job to her.
As popular a show as it was, it's hard for fans to imagine not seeing the characters again. The time has likely passed for a pandemic-related special, but other shows have proven that it's never too late to revive a beloved sitcom.