You would think, given the barrage of renewals we’ve seen in recent days, that CBS’ comedy juggernaut The Big Bang Theory would be a given to be amongst them. Not so, thanks to ongoing contract negotiations! Big Bang fans have a glimmer of hope, though, thanks to star Jim Parsons.
The stars of The Big Bang Theory are negotiating their contracts once again likely because they know just how much the show rakes in for CBS. It is the number one comedy on US television right now and has been for several years. It also pulls consistently solid ratings in syndication. Its continued success depends on the presence of all of the main characters, and any one departing would spell the end for the entire program.
Speaking to Sunday Today‘s Willie Geist, Jim Parsons — known for his Big Bang character Sheldon Cooper — said that, while he can’t let us know quite yet how things are going behind the scenes, he ‘would be shocked’ if we didn’t get an 11th season of the show.
This isn’t the first time that contract terms have potentially gotten in the way of the nerdy laughs. Production was halted in 2014 when negotiations were not resolved before filming was scheduled to begin. Before the new contracts were signed, Parsons and fellow ‘lead’ actors Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco reportedly netted $1 million per episode, up substantially from $325,000 per episode. The other cast members also received decent pay bumps at the same time. All of these negotiations took place after CBS renewed the program for three seasons at once … leading to the current impasse.
Check out the clip below from Parsons’ recent interview, and let us know whether you’d tune in for an 11th Season of The Big Bang Theory!
