Yes, The Big Bang Theory fans, these are all the ways that your precious show was almost different than the perfect, well-timed comedy show that you know and of course love.
Once upon a time, we almost were missing characters, or were going to get completely different versions of them.
Needles s to say, they were unpleasant.
‘The Big Bang Theory’ is over.
After years and years of making us laugh, the series has finally come to an end. Some think it was perfect the way it was… but did you know it could have been different?
In fact, so different that a lot of people would have hated it. Some characters didn’t even exist in the original pitch.
These are all the ways!
1. Penny almost didn’t exist
Everyone’s favorite ditzy blonde next door almost wasn’t a character in the original pilot script.
She was in fact, replaced by a girl named “Katie” who was described as “dark” and “brooding”.
In fact, here’s what Warner Bros president and chief content officer Peter Roth had to say about the original character:
“In the first pilot, the character of Penny [originally named Katie] was not as appealing as that proverbial girl next door.”
2. Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar almost weren’t a part of it.
Back before the show actually hit the air, there was a version where Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar (Howard and Raj) weren’t a part of the show.
Crazy, I know.
Here’s what series creator Chuck Lorre had to say about it:
“We did the Big Bang pilot about two and a half years ago, and it sucked… but there were two remarkable things that worked perfectly, and that was Johnny [Leonard] and Jim [Sheldon].”
So, they rewrote the whole script.
And it was at that moment where they picked up Helberg, Nayyar and actually, Kaley Cuoco. Yeah, she wasn’t a part of the show yet either!
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But speaking of which…
3. Kaley Cuoco Almost wasn’t a part of the show
As previously mentioned, they wanted someone darker and brooding for the girl next door character.
And if you’ve ever seen the sunshiney and blonde Cuoco, you know that doesn’t really fit her all that well.
She originally auditioned for the role.
But she actually lost out to actress Amanda Walsh .
A year later when they decided to switch up the character however, she was called back.
And thank goodness for that.
Here’s how Cuoco herself puts it:
“I didn’t get [the role of Katie] the first time around. I was too young, which I love saying because I don’t get to say that I’m too young anymore. Then, a year later, I heard they were doing it again, and they brought me back in to read for Penny.”
And the rest is history.
4. Sheldon wasn’t Sheldon until Jim Parsons arrived
Apparently, the way that Sheldon was originally supposed to be portrayed was a lot different.
However, when Jim Parsons stepped into the role, the people at the top were astonished.
Chuck Lorre said about his performance:
“I didn’t even believe it when that happened. I never anticipated the character being the way he crafted it. It was funny, it was touching, it was real.”
5. Wil Wheaton almost turned down the role
It was really hard to get Wil Wheaton on the show, believe it or not.
At first, when he got the e-mail saying that the Big Bang Theory people wanted him, he thought it was a prank
“I didn’t recognize her email address.”
“So I actually thought it was a friend of mine playing a prank on me, because 10 years ago I thought there’s no way anybody in The Big Bang Theory is remotely interested in me. This has got to be a joke.”
But it wasn’t, so he moved on and told the people he didn’t want to play himself, but a character.
“Listen, I’m a huge fan of the show, but I’m not really interested in playing myself. I would rather play a character on the show, sort of like Sara Gilbert is Leslie Winkle.”
So they came back to him with this:
“I called Bill back and he said: ‘So here’s the thing. Since we last talked, the role has changed a little bit. Instead of playing yourself, you’re playing a delightfully evil version of yourself’. I said, ‘Well that sounds great, that’s a character! I’m on board! Let’s do it’. And about a week later I was on set.”