Certain things in entertainment are inevitable: Every three months there will be a new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in the theaters, every day a classic rock radio station will play Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” and the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” and every fall, seemingly since the beginning of time, there will be another brand new, ratings-topping season of The Big Bang Theory. Ending of TBBT? Why it ended

The sitcom juggernaut about a group of nerdy geniuses, waitress-turned-drug company rep Penny, and their lives at their apartments and Cal Tech debuted on CBS and only grew in popularity. It became a massively successful show, even into its twelfth season (2018-19), which made it the longest-running multi-camera (meaning live-action, laugh track-laden) comedy in American TV history. Shockingly, it also became the last season of The Big Bang Theory. How could CBS ever do this, or allow this to happen? Here’s a look at the real reasons The Big Bang Theory ended.

Jim Parsons said ‘Bazinga,’ which means ‘I’m outta here’

Jim Parsons was a relatively successful character actor best known for commercials and a minor role in Garden State before he landed the role of annoying mega-genius Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory. The show has made him not only famous, but appreciated (he’s won four Emmys for his work), and extremely rich — in 2017, Forbes reported that he earned $27.5 million a year. Ending of TBBT? Why it ended?

It’s also made him an in-demand actor, and since he doesn’t have to worry about money, Parsons can take on whatever projects speak to his heart and soul. In recent years he starred in HBO’s adaptation of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer’s harrowing play about the early days of the AIDS crisis, and in the summer of 2018, he starred in a Broadway revival of the classic play The Boys in the Band. Parsons has a lot going on, and after 12 years in one role, he was ready to try out playing other characters more often. Amazingly, he may have even turned down $50 million to stay with The Big Bang Theory for a 13th and 14th season.

Chuck Lorre didn’t want to do it without Parsons

According to Deadline, here’s how The Big Bang Theory co-creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre announced the show’s end. After an August 22, 2018 table read of an upcoming episode, Lorre summoned the cast to his office. When everyone arrived, Lorre let star Jim Parsons have the room. Through tears, he told his castmates that the currently shooting 12th season of the show would be his last. Immediately thereafter, Lorre told the assembled actors that the 12th season would be everybody’s last — he’d opted to end the show rather than continue on without Parsons or Sheldon Cooper. Deadline also reported that Parsons told Lorre five days prior to the meeting, and many executives tried to get him to change his mind, but to no avail. 

As Parsons couldn’t be budged, Lorre decided to end the show rather than attempt the difficult task of reformulating the show and continuing on without one of its leads. Besides, he had other projects to work on; he’s the creator and a writer for The Kominsky Method, which in January 2019 won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.

Johnny Galecki was ready to go, too

While Jim Parsons’ decision to walk away from the show — and $50 million — was the official impetus for The Big Bang Theory wrapping up rather than going on for at least a couple more years, the show’s other male lead, Johnny Galecki, hinted in January 2018 that he was just as ready to move on. At the 2018 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, Galecki (who portrays experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter) sparked some early speculation — or perhaps even planted the seed — that the 12th season of The Big Bang Theory could be the final one. “The only manner in which the cast has discussed wrapping has been that we’re all going to be very sad when that day comes,” Galecki told TV reporters. “But I think at this point everyone’s very comfortable with 12 seasons being a good time to go home and see our families.” And that’s exactly what ended up happening. Ending Of TBBT? Why it ended

There weren’t many more stories to tell

While Parsons’s decision ultimately led to the show’s demise, and producer Chuck Lorre decided no Big Bang was preferable to a Sheldon-free Big Bang, and cast members Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, and Mayim Bialik became publicly wistful, no one (as of yet) has seemed particularly angry about the fact that they all lost their jobs. Why? Well, they all pulled in huge paychecks for their work on the show, but perhaps it’s also because they know that the writing was on the wall of the writers’ room.

Not enough creativity, and too many T-shirts

In an interview published in Entertainment Weekly in January 2019, Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons revealed a bit more than he had previously about just why he was ready to wrap up the hit sitcom. In short? It was simply time. “There is no negative reason to stop doing Big Bang,” Parsons explained. “It felt like we have been able to do this for so many years now, it doesn’t feel like there is anything left on the table.” That’s a nice way of saying that the show had run out of creative juice. “It feels like we’ve chewed all the meat off this bone.” Ending Of TBBT? Why it ended

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