“The three-year pickup is great and wonderful, but it’s not going to change what we do,” executive producer Steve Molaro tells TVGuide.com. “The way we’ve done things has worked out pretty well so far!”
“The three-year pickup is great and wonderful, but it’s not going to change what we do,” executive producer Steve Molaro tells TVGuide.com. “The way we’ve done things has worked out pretty well so far!”
That method means never looking further ahead than the episode in front of them. So, even with Penny (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) engaged now, it’ll be a while before you get a Save the Date.
“I don’t think we feel pressure to hit these milestones,” Molaro says. “I’m sure some fans want a wedding right away or babies or something, but most of them know … we try to let the show grow organically, so no wedding or babies for now. We try to let the characters tell us when it’s time to let these things happen. There’s no map between now and the end of Season 10 of when certain milestones need to be hit. When it feels like the right time, we’ll go for it. We’re not great at planning too far out in advance and when we have done it in the past, we end up changing our minds anyway!”
But even without a wedding and little Big offspring, there’s plenty to look forward to in Season 8. Here are eight things you can expect.
1. Sheldon’s return
After taking off in the season finale to find himself and deal with all the changes around him, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) will see his road trip cut short after he gets robbed in his sleeper car in Kingman, Ariz. And who does he call for help? Leonard, not Amy (Mayim Bialik). “That hurts her feelings. They talk about it and they’re fine after that,” Molaro says. “They’re not a couple that changes all that drastically. They do, but it’s a slow process. But moving forward, it’s fairly status quo for those two.”
And does Sheldon come back a changed man? “He’s down on himself because he feels like he failed because all his items were stolen and Leonard had to pick him up,” Molaro says. “But they do a pretty good job of bucking him up and making him realize that he survived this adventure and he is better off for it.”
In the second episode of Monday’s one-hour premiere, Sheldon will get the chance to switch his study to dark matter — but with a caveat. “One of the solutions the university was able to come to was if Sheldon were to become a junior professor. That would allow him to make the switch,” Molaro says. “So he reluctantly agrees to teach a class.” But there is no class! No one has signed up for it… except for Howard (Simon Helberg). “You can imagine how well that goes,” Molaro says.
5. Mommy issues
6. A new comic book store
7. Emily (Laura Spencer) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) still sitting in a tree
8. Angels in the outfield