‘The Big Bang Theory’ Just Made A Huge, Surprising Change — Here’s Why
Straight out of the gate, let me warn you that there are rather huge spoilers from The Big Bang Theory’s latest episode discussed in the article below. So, if you didn’t watch Thursday night’s episode, entitled, “The Valentine Submergence,” then please don’t read ahead. You have been warned.
Last night it was revealed that Bernadette is pregnant with Howard’s baby. Howard still doesn’t know, though, because Bernadette made this revelation to the rabbit Valentino, which immediately led those watching at home to react rather rapturously.
But while you’d have probably assumed that those in control of The Big Bang Theory spent months, maybe even years, deciding the best possible scenario to make Bernadette pregnant, executive producer and showrunner Steve Molaro admitted that it was actually much more impulsive and spontaneous.
In fact, when they originally outlined “The Valentine Submergence,” the writers didn’t even consider that Bernadette would be pregnant. But, then, when the aforementioned rabbit was brought into the equation, the mood changed, leading Molaro to joke that Bernadette should tell the rabbit she is pregnant.
#BigBangTheory Boss on Bernadette’s Big Bombshell https://t.co/naS2EE3crf @MelissaRauch @BigBangWriters pic.twitter.com/1P9vsWqx5f
— Lesley Goldberg (@Snoodit) February 12, 2016
But while Molaro was originally joking about this plot turn, the other writers soon embraced it. And it then turned into a fully-fledged idea that forced its way into the show.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Molaro explained how the entire development of the idea transpired.
“Half-kidding, I said, ‘What if Bernadette tells the rabbit,’ ‘We’ll find another time to tell him I’m pregnant.’ The room had such a strong, positive reaction to it.”
“We thought it seemed like an organic moment and we decided to put it in,” Molaro explained. “Because there was no plan for it, it felt very exciting to us when we did it; like it was a thing that should happen and maybe this was the time to do it. I handed [co-creator] Chuck Lorre the draft of the script and didn’t tell him it was in there. He got to the end and thought, ‘Wow, OK sure, that totally makes sense. Let’s do it.”
There actually hasn’t been too much focus on Howard and Bernadette’s relationship over the course of the current season. Instead, the episodes have focused on Leonard and Penny’s new marriage, as well as the rebuilding of Amy and Sheldon’s relationship too.
Of course, now that we are into the ninth season of The Big Bang Theory, thoughts will turn to how long the series has on the air. The likes of Frasier, Cheers, Seinfeld, and Friends have each come to their conclusion around this mark, and there is a feeling that The Big Bang Theory will soon do the same.
RT to congratulate Bernadette on the baby news! #BigBangTheory pic.twitter.com/8Q9vWz27WN
— The Big Bang Theory (@BigBang_CBS) February 12, 2016
Late last year, Steve Molaro provided an update on the show’s likely end date, suggesting that the 10th season might actually be the perfect end date. However, he also insisted that he didn’t really have a concrete answer to this question.
Steve Molaro once again gave this answer to the Hollywood Reporter.
“The reality is that maybe season 10 is the ending point. The real answer is I don’t know and all I can do right now is go episode to episode and try to make each one the best that we can. There’s still so many episodes to go. Even if hypothetically season 10 was the end, I wouldn’t be focusing on that yet. That seems like something that would be dealt with way down the line.”
[Image via CBS]
