LIttle did the fans know, there was a lot of controversy behind the scenes, during the 12th and final season of The Big Bang Theory. The tell-all book, The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, dropped some major bombshells, including what went down after Jim Parsons' decision to leave the show. The book reveals that the entire cast felt different emotions. Johnny Galecki felt blindsided and wasn't pleased with his co-star, while Kunal Nayyar admitted that it felt like a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Kaley Cuoco had the toughest reaction, according to those behind the scenes. We'll take a look back at how Cuoco felt about the show coming to an end, and how she almost missed tapings the following day, out of anger. Thankfully, cooler heads were able to prevail, and the show finished on good terms behind the scenes, among the cast.
Kaley Cuoco Was Devastated By The Announcement Of The Big Bang Theory Coming To An End
It certainly wasn't the easiest day on the set of The Big Bang Theory... According to Chuck Lorre, Parsons' decision to step down rattled the entire room, especially Kaley Cuoco who broke down into tears.
“There was a lot of crying in the room. Kaley, in particular. It was a blow. And there was no way to soften it by giving them a heads-up. I didn’t know any other way to do it.”
Cuoco herself recalled the moment, just being completely shocked by it all.
“Jim said, ‘I don’t think I can continue on,'" Cuoco shares. “And I was so shocked that I was literally like, ‘Continue on with what?’ Like, I didn’t even know what he was talking about. I looked at Chuck: ‘Wow. I thought we were — I’m so blown away right now.’”
Cuoco also stated that she cried for hours, especially given that the cast assumed they had another upcoming season. Ultimately, the uncertainty of it all hurt Cuoco.
"I mean, we cried for hours that day. We thought we were going to do another year, so all of [a] sudden your life kind of flashes before your eyes. I looked at Chuck and said, 'What are we going to do?' I couldn't breathe. It just felt like a death, but also a new horizon for everybody as well."
The emotions carried into work the next day, as Cuoco almost didn't show up to the tapings and when she did appear, working alongside Jim Parsons was tough for a brief minute.
Kaley Cuoco Almost Skipped Out On Tapings The Next Day, And Could Barely Look At Jim Parsons
According to showrunner Steve Molaro, tension was very high on-set following Parsons' decision to leave the show. In fact, Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki almost missed out on the filming the following day.
Cuoco finally showed up, but she wasn't her usual self around Parsons.
"Kaley could barely make eye contact with Jim during the run-through, but they got through it," recalled Molaro.
Cuoco wasn't the only cast member upset by it all. Johnny Galecki was also upset with the decision, not because he wasn't ready for the show to end, but for the reason that he felt blindsided, given that Parsons hadn't issued any warnings to his fellow cast members behind the scenes prior.
In Jim's defense, the actor revealed he was going to bring up the matter during season 13 negotiations, though ultimately that moment never came. The actor didn't want to go through the entire season without speaking about Sheldon's future on the show.
After Only A Few Days, Things Were Back To Normal Between Jim Parsons And Kaley Cuoco
Thankfully, it didn't take long for the cast to get back to normal. Molaro admits Cuoco and Parsons were their usual selves after only a few days, following the dispute.
"Pretty quickly I saw Kaley and Jim talking between scenes and laughing," Molaro continued. "They seemed to be able to be around each other and not just want to get into their cars and leave immediately afterwards."
Molaro would also reveal that things eventually fell into place with the entire cast throughout the final season.
"After the shocking moment of [that meeting], things eventually began to fall into place, and got peaceful moving towards the finale," he revealed.