Why did the departure of Jim Parsons (Sheldon) lead to the end of “The Big Bang Theory”… and the anger of his playing partners?
On May 16, 2019, at the end of its twelfth season, the sitcom The Big Bang Theory said its final farewell to American television. Among the most popular series of the 2000s, the series features a group of geek friends and their next-door neighbor Penny with whom Leonard, Sheldon’s roommate, falls madly in love.
Although he was not originally the main character of the program, Sheldon Cooper nevertheless quickly became the most popular and appreciated hero of The Big Bang Theory.
This is largely thanks to the performance of his interpreter Jim Parsons, an actor then little known to the general public and whose performance notably earned him four Emmy Awards for Best Actor.
After twelve seasons, the series ended following Jim Parsons’ decision to leave the program. Could we imagine The Big Bang Theory without Sheldon, whose youth was also the subject of a spin-off broadcast under the title Young Sheldon?
Colossal economic benefits
The decision to end the program seemed the most reasonable for many fans. But the other actors in the program found it more difficult to accept this decision. Notably because none were consulted either by Jim Parsons or by production. But also for the economic consequences of this judgment.
Due to the immense popularity of the series, the main actors of the program (i.e. the interpreters of Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Raj and Howard) were able to negotiate contracts guaranteeing them a salary of one million dollars for each episode turned. The three main actors also got 1% of the show’s revenue, or about $10 million for each year.
We can therefore quite imagine that none of the actors were delighted to give up this incredible salary. This “rich people’s problem”, however, does not seem to have undermined the deep friendship that the interpreter of Sheldon maintains with his playing partners, as evidenced by the winking appearances of some of them in the series Young Sheldon.
Subject to multiple rebroadcasts on TNT channels, the series The Big Bang Theory will however no longer be available on Prime Video from December 31.
Discover the list of series currently available on the platform!