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The Big Bang Theory season 8

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The Big Bang Theory (season 8)
Season 8
No. of episodes24
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 22, 2014 (2014-09-22)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 7
Next →
Season 9
List of episodes

The eighth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory will be airing on CBS with a one hour premiere on Monday, September 22, 2014. It is scheduled to return to its previous Thursday time slot on October 30, joining the final season of Two and a Half Men.

On March 12, 2014, The Big Bang Theory was renewed for an additional three years, extending it through the 2016–17 season for a total of ten seasons.[1]

Production

In February 2014, CBS CEO Les Moonves confirmed an eighth season, when announcing that the first half of the new season would air on a different night, due to CBS acquiring the rights to Thursday Night Football games. The show will return to its Thursday slot that it has held for the past few seasons once the football games end.[2]

Delay

Production for the season was expected to begin on July 30, 2014, however the start may have been delayed due to the five main cast members looking to renegotiate new contracts, with Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco seeking around $1 million per episode, as well as more backend money. Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar are negotiating together, separate from Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco's negotiations.[3] Production was officially delayed on July 30, due to the contract negotiations,[4] and was rescheduled for August 6, 2014.[5] On August 4, Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco signed new contracts, worth $1 million per episode for three years, with the possibility to extend for a fourth year. The deals also include larger pieces of the show, signing bonuses, production deals and advances towards the back-end.[6] The following day, Helberg and Nayyar renegotiated their contracts, giving them a per-episode pay in the "mid six-figure range", up from around $100,000 per episode they each received in years prior. Production was expected to begin on August 6, in order to fulfill the 24 episode season order.[4][7] Filming resumed on August 12, 2014 with the taping of the first episode of season 8.[8]

Cast

Main article: List of The Big Bang Theory characters
  • Penny, portrayed by Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting (credited in previous seasons as "Kaley Cuoco"), is a waitress who lives across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard, and is Leonard's fiancée. She has aspirations to an acting career, but has not been particularly successful thus far, only boasting a few small roles. Her last name has never been revealed.
  • Howard Wolowitz, portrayed by Simon Helberg, is an aerospace engineer. He is Jewish, and lived with his mother until season 6. Howard is the only one of his friends (besides Penny) who does not have a Ph.D (he has a masters degree from MIT), a fact which Sheldon is quite often dismissive to Wolowitz and others. Though Howard fancied himself a ladies man, and that his clumsy advances and sexual harassment of Penny drew her ire, Howard began dating Bernadette Rostenkowski in season 3, and married her in the season 5 finale. In season 6 Howard visits the International Space Station as an astronaut/payload specialist. During season 7, they talk about having children.
  • Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali, portrayed by Kunal Nayyar, is an astrophysicist from New Delhi, India. He comes from a very wealthy family, including a successful gynecologist father, and a large house with servants. His parents still live in New Delhi and are sometimes seen communicating with him via Skype, often pressuring him to get married. Raj works alongside Sheldon exploring the string theory implications of gamma rays from dark matter annihilation. He is very shy around women. Throughout most of the series, he has suffered from selective mutism, and cannot speak to women unless he has consumed alcohol, but this condition disappeared in the season 6 finale. He finds a friend in Stuart Bloom after Howard marries Bernadette. Near the end of season 7, Raj becomes romantically involved with a dermatologist named Emily (Laura Spencer), and their relationship becomes exclusive by the last two episodes of the season.
  • Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, portrayed by Dr. Mayim Bialik, Ph.D, is a neurobiologist. She first meets Sheldon in the season 3 finale through Raj and Howard, and is very similar to Sheldon, except that she is more open to social interactions and thus more susceptible to conventional behavior. She becomes close friends with Sheldon in season 4, and becomes his girlfriend in season 5, though Sheldon is extremely slow to the progress the physical aspect of their relationship. By the season 5 finale, they have progressed to holding hands. They engage in fantasy sexual gameplay between their Dungeons and Dragons characters in season 6. In season 7, Sheldon begins kissing her on the lips for the first time. In the season 7 finale, she is extremely upset at Sheldon leaving Pasadena. Amy also forms a quirky friendship with Penny, whom Amy frequently refers to as her "bestie," and becomes Bernadette's maid of honor at her and Howard's wedding.
  • Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, portrayed by Melissa Rauch, is a microbiologist. Formerly, Bernardette was working her way through grad school as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory, where she befriended Penny, and they eventually become a trio with Amy. Penny introduced Bernadette to Howard. She was upgraded to main cast status in the episode "The Hot Troll Deviation". They get engaged in the "The Herb Garden Germination". In season 4, she, too, earns a Ph.D and joined the other doctors in mocking Howard for having only a master's. She marries Howard just before he goes into space at the end of season 5. Outwardly sweet, Bernadette refuses to tolerate Howard's often childish and embarrassing behavior and has become a stabilizing force in his life. She goes to work for a pharmaceutical company that makes her a lot of money, much more than Howard does, and in season 6, when she finds out that he and Raj spent $5,000 on a 3D printer to make figurines of themselves, she cuts him off from their money and puts him on an allowance. In season 7, it is revealed that she and Amy sometimes like to go out without Penny so that they can talk about science-related topics.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Big Bang Theory episodes
The Big Bang Theory season 8 episodes
No. in
series 		No. in
season 		Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production
code 		U.S. viewers
(millions)
1601"The Locomotion Interruption"Mark Cendrowski[9]Story: Jim Reynolds, Maria Ferrari & Tara Hernandez
Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Steve Holland & Eric Kaplan[9]		September 22, 2014 (2014-09-22)[10]4X6751TBD
1612"The Junior Professor Solution"Mark Cendrowski[11]Story: Steven Molaro, Eric Kaplan & Steve Holland
Teleplay: Jim Reynolds, Maria Ferrari & Tara Hernandez[11]		September 22, 2014 (2014-09-22)[10]4X6752TBD

References

  1. ^ "The Big Bang Theory: Renewed for THREE More Years!". March 12, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  2. ^ Lieberman, David (February 12, 2014). "CBS Will Launch 'Big Bang Theory' On Different Night As NFL Begins Season On Thursdays". Deadline. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 16, 2014). "'The Big Bang Theory' Production Start In Limbo As Cast Contract Negotiations Drag On". Deadline. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Goldberg, Lesley (July 30, 2014). "'Big Bang Theory' Delays Production as Cast Still Without Contracts". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 1, 2014). "'The Big Bang Theory' Negotiations Update: Production Start Date Pushed To Next Wednesday As Talks Continue". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 4, 2014). "'Big Bang Theory' Stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki & Kaley Cuoco Close Big New Deals". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  7. ^ Friedlander, Whitney; Littleton, Cynthia (August 5, 2014). "'Big Bang Theory': Production to Resume as Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar Set New Deals". Variety. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  8. ^ Nayyar, Kunal (August 12, 2014). "It's the day of the show y'all! First tape night if season 8! Woooooooo. #TBBT". Twitter. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  9. ^ a b Prady, Bill (August 6, 2014). "Good morning". Twitter. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Shows A-Z – big bang theory, the on cbs". the Futon Critic. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  11. ^ a b Prady, Bill (August 13, 2014). "Morning!". Twitter. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
General references
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Big_Bang_Theory_season_8&oldid=621611236"