This week, the news broke that long-running sitcom The Big Bang Theory would be ending in 2019 after its 12th season.
Now, reports are emerging that the decision to end the show is because Jim Parsons, the actor who plays Sheldon Cooper, turned down a massive payday. He was reportedly offered more than $50 million to appear in two more seasons as the socially challenged physicist.
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According to EW, Parsons — along with his four original costars Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg — makes approximately $1 million per episode. The five actors took a $100,000 pay cut per episode for Seasons 11 and 12 in order to increase the salaries of co-stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch.
On Thursday, Parsons posted a heartfelt message on Instagram but didn’t address any of the swirling rumours about his departure.
“It is hard (nearly impossible, actually) to really accept that this is a picture of the first of the final 24 episodes we will shoot for The Big Bang Theory,” he wrote. “I feel very fortunate that we have another 23 episodes to shoot this season because I am hopeful that with each and every one, my level of REALLY accepting this fact will sink in.”
“Something else I feel grateful for — and this gratitude needs no time to ‘sink in’ or become more ‘realized;’ this grateful-feeling is always with me but is multiplied in this moment of us announcing our final season — but I feel such intense gratitude for our devoted viewers who are the ACTUAL reason we have been graced with the opportunity to explore these characters for 12 years of our lives.”
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He goes on to thank the writers and crew of the show.
“The writers thought of this show, the writers created these characters, the writers are the ones who found ways to keep coming up with organic, entertaining ways to keep the life of this show going which is a task much, much more challenging than anyone other than them will ever know or understand. And while I know that they already know it, it bears repeating again and again: I am so terribly grateful for the cast in this picture and the cast members who aren’t pictured here; whether they are in one scene or many episodes along the way; you are all my playmates that I have fallen in love with and who have become a part of my life on set and off,” he continued.
“You are my playmates when we don’t feel like playing but have to because it’s our job to get out there and communicate and pretend we’re these other fictional people and we look into each other’s eyes and say these words and end up creating this weird, other reality that has enriched my life more than I will fully ever understand. I will miss all of you and all of this more than I can say and more than I can know at this time,” he concluded.
Other cast members said farewell on social media.
Bialik wrote on her personal blog that she was lamenting the end of the series.
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“Am I happy? Of course not,” she wrote. “This has been my job since Melissa Rauch and I joined the cast as regulars in season 4. I love my job. I love my castmates, and I feel such appreciation for our incredible crew, our brave writers, our entire staff, and our amazing fans. So many people are a part of our Big Bang family.”
Cuoco posted her feelings to Instagram.
“This ride has been a dream come true and as life changing as it gets. No matter when it was going to end, my heart would have always been broken in two. Drowning in tears, we promise to bring you the best season yet. To the fans, our crew, families, Chuck Lorre, Warner Brothers, CBS, and everyone who has supported us for so many years, thank you. We are goin out with a bang,” she wrote.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Television, the producers of the beloved sitcom, announced that the show would be ending after Season 12. The final season premieres in the last week of September.
“We are forever grateful to our fans for their support of The Big Bang Theory during the past twelve seasons. 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,” WBTV and Chuck Lorre Productions said in a joint statement.
With 279 episodes, the show is the longest-running multi-camera comedy in TV history. It just shot its first episode of Season 12 on Tuesday.
Fellow long-running sitcom Modern Family is also ending next year with its upcoming 10th season.
During its run, The Big Bang Theory earned 52 Emmy nominations and won 10 of them. Despite its multiple awards nods, it has never won top comedy honours. The show was — by far — TV’s No. 1 comedy in North America (including Canada) until it was booted from the top spot by the return of Roseanne.
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