After 12 years as one of the world’s most popular sit coms, The Big Bang Theory (TBBT) will air its final episode in May 2019, 12 seasons and 279 episodes since it began.
And if you are looking for someone to blame (or thank) for bringing the show to its end, please look no further than Jim Parsons, who plays lead nerd Sheldon Cooper.
According to Deadline, insider sources claimed TBBT’s co-creator, Chuck Lorre, didn’t want to continue with a 13th season unless its three lead actors – Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki (Leonard) and Kaley Cuoco (Penny) – wanted to as well, and Parsons didn’t.
Despite negotiations from CBS to change the 45-year-old actor’s mind, he was “ready to move on,” and Lorre and Parsons surprised the cast and crew with the news just a day before making their public statement on May 23.
According to Nellie Adreeva of Deadline: “I hear Lorre gave the floor to star Jim Parsons, who made a tearful announcement that he would not be continuing on the series beyond the upcoming 12th season.”
Although Parsons instigated the show’s end, following the public announcement, he did share an emotional and lengthy tribute to the cast, writers, crew and fans on his Instagram.
“It is hard (really 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.
