The Big Bang Theory is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers. The show premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007. In March 2017, the series was renewed for two additional seasons, bringing its total to twelve, and running through the 2018–19 television season. The eleventh season premiered on September 25, 2017.

The show originally centered on five characters living in Pasadena, California: Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, both physicists at Caltech, who share an apartment; Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's similarly geeky and socially awkward friends and co-workers, aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali. Over time, supporting characters have been promoted to starring roles including: physicist Leslie Winkle, neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler, microbiologist Bernadette Rostenkowski, and Stuart Bloom, the cash-strapped owner of the comic book store the characters often visit.

The show is filmed in front of a live audience and is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Productions. The Big Bang Theory received mixed reviews from critics throughout its first season, but reception was more favorable in the second and third seasons. Later seasons saw a return to a lukewarm reception, with the show being criticised for a decline in comedic quality. Despite the mixed reviews, seven seasons of the show have ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings; ultimately reaching the no. 1 spot in its eleventh season. The show was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series from 2011 to 2014 and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series four times for Jim Parsons. It has so far won 7 Emmy awards from 46 nominations. Parsons also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series in 2011. The series has so far won 56 awards from 216 nominations. It has also spawned a prequel series in 2017 based on Parsons’ character, Sheldon Cooper, named Young Sheldon which originally aired on CBS.

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