The future of "The Big Bang Theory" looks uncertain after the initial episode in 2017 aired on Jan. 5, Thursday. "The Big Bang Theory" Season 10, episode 12 titled "Holiday Summation" is the last episode for now as there are still no updates from CBS about any new episode or season.
Viewers would not be seeing any follow-up for "The Big Bang Theory" Season 10, episode 12 next week. CBS has not announced the plans yet, so fans of the hit comedy show should just wait until Jan. 19, according to Carter Matt.
The last episode did not provide any indication of what direction the show is heading except that Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette Rostenskowski (Melissa Raunch) are doing their new roles as parents. It was also shown that Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) had a bit of silly differences.
At the center of the issue is the contract renewal of the "The Big Bang Theory" stars. The entire cast, including Parsons, Galecki (Leonard), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Rauch have not signed a new contract beyond "The Big Bang Theory" Season 10.
"All we can do right now is focus on season 10 and go script by script, which is what we would be doing anyway," "The Big Bang Theory" showrunner Steve Molaro told The Hollywood Reporter about the fate of the show. "As far as I'm concerned, here in the writers' room, it's business usual: moving forward with the characters and letting them live their lives day by day and feeling out what happens with them."
Since airing 10 years ago, CBS has been spending over $ 4 million to make each episode. It does not include the payouts for the cast yet. Parsons earns the highest with his reported $1 million deal per episode.
Cuoco and Galecki are reportedly earning almost the same figure as Parsons. Other cast such as Rauch, Bialik, Helberg and Nayyar are receiving an amount close to what the big stars of the series are receiving.
At the end of 2016, "The Big Bang Theory" garnered the title as the most-watched regularly-scheduled prime-time program on U.S television. It took the lead from NBC's "Sunday Night Football" after the CBS comedy ended an average of 19.94 million U.S. viewers for 2016.
After "The Big Bang Theory" Season 10, the show was hailed as the No. 1 scripted series on TV. However, there is still no certainty for the show yet. There are rumors that after the Season 10, the show would only offer a shorter 13-episode season instead of the regular 22 or 24.
Check out Season 10 trailer here: