Before Mayim Bialik’s arrival in the sitcom, Chuck Lorre entertained the idea of Sheldon Cooper being asexual.
While his shenanigans, especially in the initial seasons of The Big Bang Theory, made Sheldon Cooper a treat to watch onscreen, his antics also made him one of the least likable people to be around. However, as the show progressed, Jim Parsons’ TBBT counterpart continued to evolve and eventually found his match in Mayim Bialik’s Amy, with whom he later walked the aisle.
But before she was introduced in the sitcom, series creator Chuck Lorre planned a different arc for Sheldon’s romantic journey.
Sheldon Was Complete With Himself Per Chuck Lorre
Opposed to what we got, Chuck Lorre initially championed the idea of Sheldon as asexual. Lorre expressed that he found Sheldon’s disinterest in anyone except science remarkable, as the showrunner felt the character was complete without any romantic interest. The Two and a Half Men creator further added that “He[Sheldon] was not unconsciously avoiding contact with people”, stressing “Science was his mistress”.
I had, for several years, championed the idea that Sheldon was asexual. He had no interest, which I thought made him remarkable. Sheldon just didn’t care [about girls]. He was not attracted to anybody. He was attracted to science. There was kind of a sense that we had our own lane; that no one else was doing this.
Sheldon was complete without a relationship. And that broke ground a little bit, along with the fact that he could articulate those wishes. He was not unconsciously avoiding contact with people. He looked at it, he analyzed it, and said, ‘I want no part of this.’ Science was his mistress.
While the writers had no intention of straying away from the character’s roots, things eventually changed once Amy entered the picture.
Jim Parsons Readily Accepted Sheldon’s Romance With Amy
Following her introduction in the season 3 finale, Mayim Bialik served as one of the strongest pillars of the 12-season long series, whose entry also gave Jim Parsons some much-needed room to breathe. As for his romance with Amy, Parsons shared that he had a similar stance on both Sheldon’s asexuality and his eventual relationship with Amy.
I as easily accepted his asexuality as I eventually did his odd sexuality once Amy was on.
However, the writers made sure to take a more gradual approach to their relationship, as they didn’t want to do a “90-degree turn”, with his sexuality. Lorre recalled:
[When we] … eventually did enter Sheldon into a relationship … we did it very slowly, and in a way that made us feel like we hadn’t done a 90-degree turn at all.
While seeing Sheldon being content with himself was fun, seeing him grow as a person, especially after Amy’s arrival, elevated the sitcom for many.
