CBS’ hit sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” went through several changes before it made it to screens. A notable example is the creators’ decision to replace the show’s original female lead with Kaley Cuoco’s Penny, who became a stalwart of the series for 12 successful seasons. Penny is an aspiring actress who moves next door to the nerdy physicists Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), but the original plan was for her neighbors to have a different vocation.
While speaking to The Paley Center for Media, “Big Bang Theory” co-creator Chuck Lorre revealed that he and his colleagues originally planned on making the nerdy characters computer programmers instead of physicists. In his own words:
“I don’t even know why, you [Bill Prady] were telling me stories about computer programming in New York in the ’80s, and talking about the guys that he worked with, and they were fascinating. They were deeply troubled, but they were fascinating. We were also working on an idea about a young woman who’s going off to the big city — it sounds strangely like Mary Tyler Moore — to start her life. There was a moment in the room where we went, ‘What if they met her?'”
In the end, the creators opted to change the sitcom’s nerdy characters to scientists and engineers. This is because Lorre didn’t like the idea of setting the story in the world of computer programming for one specific reason.
Computer programmers are too money-driven
While “The Big Bang Theory” features scenes that haven’t aged well, no one can accuse the characters of being greedy and obsessed with money (heck, Sheldon Cooper doesn’t even cash most of his paychecks). During the aforementioned interview, Bill Prady revealed that they didn’t want Sheldon, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) to be money-oriented, which is why they decided against making them computer programmers from a commerce-driven industry.
“Chuck Lorre kept stressing that they should be really smart, but something that was separate from the money-making world. At some point, we started talking about science. I remember, because we went out and picked up the Richard Feynman book, ’cause I’d read it, and I said, ‘We’ll read about this guy, and I think that’s sort of what we’re trying to do.'”
Ultimately, the “Big Bang Theory” creators made the right call. The CBS sitcom aired for 12 successful seasons and even inspired Belarusian rip-offs like “The Theorists,” proving that there’s a worldwide audience for TV comedies about science. Furthermore, while Lorre and Prady were against setting the series in the world of commerce, the “Big Bang Theory” cast still makes good money through reruns, showing that the sitcom didn’t have to be about money in order to make everyone involved rich. Bazinga!
