Will CBS show Sheldon, Leonard, Penny & Co. the money?
Looming contract negotiations with the Big Bang Theory cast was one of the hot topics at CBS’ portion of the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Wednesday. With TV’s No. 1 comedy only picked up through this coming season, the show’s’s 10th, the stage is set for high-stakes negotiations between CBS and Warner Bros. on a potential 11th season. The first hurdle, of course, will be getting the principal cast to extend their own deals beyond Season 10. (The central trio — Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco — are currently pocketing a cool $1 million an episode.)
“We are very confident that everyone involved wants more Big Bang past Year 10,” CBS president Glenn Geller told reporters. “I know Warner Bros will make those deals… We’ll put it on for as long as everyone wants Big Bang on the air. I hope it lasts forever.”
Last March, members of the Big Bang ensemble also expressed optimism that the contract talks would yield a positive outcome. “I think it’s a given that we want to be here,” said Cuoco. “That’s the overall consensus. It might be a sticky road, but if I have anything to do with it, we’d be here for much longer. That’s the goal.”
Parsons echoed his co-star’s sentiment, telling TVLine, “If the opportunity to go past Season 10 came up, I’d be very hard-pressed to tell you who [among the cast] might say no — if anybody would. I wouldn’t.”
