The Big Bang Theory: New Book Reveals Backstage Drama Surrounding The Decision To End Hit Sitcom

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

A new book about The Big Bang Theory reveals the behind-the-scenes drama that surrounded the decision to bring the hit sitcom to an end after 12 seasons.

It was the summer of 2018, ahead of Season 12, when Jim Parsons decided he was ready for a change. "I don't think there was a part of me that actually thought I would do more seasons [of Big Bang] after the twelfth," Parsons explains in the oral history The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series by Jessica Radloff (order here). "I was ready to... get out of the security of the show to fully find out what was next for me."

He shared how he felt with close friend and co-star Simon Helberg, who was also contemplating his next chapter. "Now, that didn't mean that we, in any way, expected that the show would certainly end," Helberg clarifies, "or that there wouldn't be any kind of attempt from the producers or the studio or the network to keep the show running, whether or not we were involved."

But according to Parsons, "nothing had come up about contracts" by the time cast and crew reconvened in August for the start of Season 12. "I felt like a liar at that [first] table read," he says. "I knew that at the end of these next 24 episodes, that was it for me. So I asked [executive producers] Chuck [Lorre] and Steve [Molaro] if we could talk."

The read-through took place on a Wednesday afternoon, and the meeting with Lorre, Molaro and Parsons occurred the following morning. "There was never a question about continuing on without him," Molaro recalls. "The show was this ensemble, and the thought of doing some strange version without him didn't seem right."

For the next six days, the cast was kept in the dark as Lorre and then-Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Peter Roth addressed the matter with executives at CBS and WB.

Scroll down to read about the chain of events that followed... 

The following Wednesday, Lorre assembled the cast, along with Molaro and showrunner Steve Holland, in his office. Lorre welcomed everyone, then passed the baton to Parsons, who did not expect to lead the meeting. "I got the feeling [Jim] was upset with me because maybe he thought I was going to lay out the future, but I didn't think it was my place to do that," Lorre says. "So he explained to them that he was ready to say goodbye at the end of Season 12. And then I said I didn't see a path forward without Sheldon, and frankly I didn't want to see a path forward with anybody leaving the show."

A press release announcing the "epic" final season of The Big Bang Theory would go out as soon as the meeting was adjourned.

Lorre acknowledges that there was "a lot of crying" in his office that day, particularly from Kaley Cuoco. "The shock of 'Oh my God, what is next?' was scary," Cuoco recalls. "We cried for hours... We thought we were going to do another year, so all of a sudden your life kind of flashes before your eyes. I looked at Chuck and said, 'What are we going to do?' I couldn't breathe. It just felt like a death." Molaro also cops to being a puddle of tears, adding: "That meeting [was] like being in a car crash in slow motion. We were all crying, it was uncontrollable."

Galecki concurs that the cast was "blindsided." The shock came not from Parsons' decision, "but that he hadn't had that conversation with his castmates first to prepare us," Galecki says. "I just disagreed with how it was handled. We thought we were going into Chuck's office to talk about renegotiating, and then Chuck tossed the baton to Jim. And Jim was shocked and obviously caught off guard."

Hurt feelings lingered among the main trio. The morning after, Molaro received a text from Cuoco saying that she was upset with Parsons and didn't know if she could work that day. Galecki had similarly reached out to Lorre to voice his frustrations. They ultimately showed up for the run-through, but it was "kind of icy" and "none of them were talking between scenes," Molaro says — and according to Holland, "Kaley could barely make eye contact with Jim during the runthrough, but they got through it."

By the following runthrough, tensions had cooled. "Pretty quickly I saw Kaley and Jim talking between scenes and laughing," Molaro says. "They seemed to be able to be around each other and not just want to get into their cars and leave immediately afterward." Holland recalls Cuoco saying that "they loved the show so much and it was such a special place... that they didn't want it to end ugly. If this was going to be the last season, they were going to put aside their anger and frustration and differences and enjoy every minute of it."

Adds Parsons: "After the shocking moment of [that meeting], things eventually began to fall into place, and got peaceful moving towards the finale."