The Big Bang Theory Was Never Supposed To Be a Show About Geeks

Summary:

• The Big Bang Theory was a hit CBS sitcom that aired from 2007 to 2019.
• The show followed a group of 4 scientist friends who welcomed their new aspiring actress neighbor into their lives.
• The show is now known for its use of pop culture references, however, Chuck Lorre admits that making characters geeky was never the initial plan.

There's no other sitcom that could have attracted as many nerdy viewers back in the day as The Big Bang Theory. It simply hit the right spot for everyone who felt like an outcast in one way or another.

Not only did it focus on the lives of four young adult men who weren't the most popular bunch and struggled with their social lives, but it also had a whole lot of pop culture references.

From Harry Potter to Star Wars, from Flash to World of Warcraft, the list of interests mentioned by the characters goes on and on. What's even more interesting, though, is that one of the show's most appealing features turned out to be a happy accident that wasn't even thought out in the beginning.

No matter how much fun they turned out to be, the original characters were never meant to have such a deep connection to any of these pop culture pieces.

The Big Bang Theory Original Plot

As one of The Big Bang Theory's co-creators, Chuck Lorre, admitted in a brief interview with The Code Word, making the guys into geeks was never the original plan.

The show was supposed to highlight the absurdity of four high-powered scientists who were terribly bad at the most mundane things in life. The obsession with comic books, movies, and video games came naturally to their personalities later on, and we are all happy that it did.

“I didn’t start this with the idea that they were nerds. I really didn’t, that kind of happened later. I was fascinated [by the idea] that they were brilliant in science, but entirely ignorant of day to day life,” Lorre shared.

Although not originally planned, this addition was the most welcomed by fans. While it wouldn't be that hard to relate to these flawed characters without nerdy obsessions, the fact that the audience could now share some interests with Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard only made them that much more endearing.

If you are feeling The Big Bang Theory nostalgia and want to throw a rewatch party, all 12 seasons of the CBS show are available for streaming on Max.

Source: The Code Word