Season 12 of hit sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” will be the series’ last. The show is the longest-running multi-camera series in television history. The final season premieres on Monday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS before it moves back to its regular time slot on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m.
“We are forever grateful to our fans for their support of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ during the past 12 seasons,” Warner Bros. Television, CBS and Chuck Lorre Productions said in a joint statement regarding the conclusion of the series. “We, along with the cast, writers and crew, are extremely appreciative of the show’s success and aim to deliver a final season, and series finale, that will bring ‘The Big Bang Theory’ to an epic creative close.”
Despite its continued massive popularity (the show averaged 18.6 million viewers last season), outsized expenses may be behind the decision to end the show. As of last year, it was estimated that “The Big Bang Theory” cost about $10 million per episode to produce.
However, Entertainment Weekly reported that the reason behind the show’s ending was because star Jim Parsons did not want to make another season. The magazine reached out to Parsons’ representatives for comment, but have not yet heard back. Parsons addressed the ending of the show on his Instagram page, though:
A post shared by Jim Parsons (@therealjimparsons) on
Along with a photo of he and his castmates, he included a lengthy caption expressing his gratitude for having had the opportunity to work on the show for so long. After thanking the writers, the crew and his fellow actors on the show, he concluded his post, writing, “I will miss all of you and all of this more than I can say and more than I can know at this time.”
Parsons’ co-star Kaley Cuoco also took to Instagram to express her sadness over the show’s ending:
“No matter when it was going to end, my heart would have always been broken in two,” she wrote.
Fellow castmate Mayim Bialik also addressed the series end in a post on her website, writing, in part, “I fear it’s going to be very hard to not cry every day for the next 23 episodes! But, as a cast, we love bringing joy to our viewers and we will continue to do that to the best of our collective ability.”
Will you tune into the final season of “The Big Bang Theory”?
