The ninth season of the American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

'' premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

on Monday, September 21, 2015. The series returned to its regular Thursday night time slot on November 5, 2015 beginning with the season's seventh episode. The season concluded on May 12, 2016. On March 12, 2014, ''The Big Bang Theory'' was renewed for an additional three years, extending it through the 2016–17 television season for a total of ten seasons. Laura Spencer was promoted to the main cast during this season after being a recurring cast member for two seasons.

Production

Like the previous season, the first six episodes of the ninth season aired on a different night due to CBS acquiring the rights to ''

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...

'' games. In May 2015, CBS announced at its annual upfront presentation, that the series would begin its ninth season on Mondays, before returning to the Thursday slot once the football games ended. Filming for the ninth season began on August 5, 2015, according to posts on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

by several of the cast members including

Melissa Rauch Melissa Ivy Rauch (born June 23, 1980) is an American actress, model and comedian. She is known for playing Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Televi ...

and

Kunal Nayyar Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is a British actor. He portrayed Raj Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) and voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom ''Sanjay and Craig'' (2013–2016). Nayyar als ...

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

reprised her role as Sheldon's mother Mary in episodes 1 and 24, and

Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor who has had success on stage, film, and television. He is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's film ''Nashville'', Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series '' Deadwood ...

returned as Penny's father Wyatt in episode 3. Sheldon's maternal grandmother Constance, whom he calls "Meemaw", made her first long-awaited appearance in episode 14 and was portrayed by

June Squibb June Louise Squibb (born November 6, 1929) is an American actress. In 2013, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film ''Nebraska''. Squibb has appeared in the films ''Alice'', '' In & Out'', ''About Schm ...

and Leonard's father Alfred also made his first long-awaited appearance in episode 24 and was played by

Judd Hirsch Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS series ...

. This was the first season to feature every main cast member of the show, including former main cast member

Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and its ...

, who made a guest appearance in the 200th episode.

Cast

Main cast

Johnny Galecki John Mark Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. He played Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and David Healy in the ABC sitcoms '' Ro ...

as Dr. Leonard Hofstadter *

Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead A ...

as Dr. Sheldon Cooper *

Kaley Cuoco Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. After a series of supporting film and television roles in the late 1990s, she landed her breakthrough role as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom ''8 Simple Rules'' (2002 ...

Penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

Simon Helberg Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Howard Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supp ...

Howard Wolowitz Howard Joel Wolowitz, M.Eng. is a fictional character on the CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory'', portrayed by actor Simon Helberg. Among the four main male characters in the show, Howard is distinctive for being an engineer—rather t ...

as Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali *

Mayim Bialik Mayim Chaya Bialik ( ; born December 12, 1975) is an American actress, game show host, and author. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom ''Blossom (TV series), Blossom''. From 2010 to 2019, she played neuroscientist ...

as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler *

as Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz *

Kevin Sussman Kevin Sussman (born December 4, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He played Walter on the ABC comedy-drama ''Ugly Betty'' and Stuart Bloom on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory''. Starting with the sixth season of ''The Big Bang Theory ...

as Stuart David Bloom * Laura Spencer as Dr. Emily Sweeney

Recurring cast

as Mary Cooper *

John Ross Bowie John Ross Bowie (born May 30, 1971) is an American actor and comedian best known for playing Barry Kripke on ''The Big Bang Theory'' and Jimmy DiMeo on '' Speechless,'' in addition to over 100 film and TV credits. He is of no known relation to s ...

as Dr. Barry Kripke *

Wil Wheaton Richard William Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', Joey Trotta in '' ...

as himself *

Casey Sander Clinton O. "Casey" Sander (born July 6, 1956) is an American actor known as the character "Captain" Jimmy Wennick on the short-lived TV series '' Tucker''. His television credits also include ''Criminal Minds'', ''The Golden Girls'', ''Grace Und ...

as Mike Rostenkowski *

Alessandra Torresani Alessandra Olivia Toreson (born May 29, 1987), known professionally as Alessandra Torresani and prior to 2007, Alessandra Toreson, is an American actress. She is best known for playing Zoe Graystone in the science fiction television series '' Cap ...

as Claire *

Christine Baranski Christine Jane Baranski (born May 2, 1952) is an American actress. She is a 15-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee, winning once in 1995 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryann Thorpe in the sitcom ''Cybill'' ...

Dr. Beverly Hofstadter The American television sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007, while the American comedy spin-off prequel television series ''Young Sheldon'', cre ...

Brian Thomas Smith Brian Thomas Smith (born May 13, 1977) is an American actor and comedian known for playing the dim-witted but kind-hearted Zack Johnson in ''The Big Bang Theory'' for nine seasons. He has also made other TV appearances on '' Fear Factor'', ''Tw ...

as Zach Johnson *

as Leslie Winkle *

Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, ''The Button-Down Mi ...

as Dr. Arthur Jeffries/Professor Proton * Stephen Hawking as himself

Guest cast

Jim Meskimen James Ross Meskimen (born September 10, 1959) is an American actor, comedian and impressionist, who is best known for his voice-over work in video games. Early life James Ross Meskimen was born in Santa Monica, California on September 10, 1959 ...

as a Minister *

Melissa Tang Melissa Tang (born May 7, 1985) is an American actress. Early life and education Tang was born in Los Angeles, California, and is of Chinese descent. She graduated with a BFA in acting from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007. Career She ha ...

as Mandy Chao *

as Wyatt (Penny's dad) * Megan Heyn as Natalie *

Patrika Darbo Patrika Darbo (born April 6, 1948) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Nancy Wesley and Shirley Spectra in the television soap operas ''Days of Our Lives'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', respectively. In 2016, Darbo won a ...

as Grace *

Michael Rapaport Michael David Rapaport (born March 20, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he has made over 100 appearances in film and television. His film roles include ''True Romance'' (1993), ''Higher Learning' ...

as Kenny *

Adam Nimoy Adam B. Nimoy (born August 9, 1956) is an American television director. Nimoy is the son of actor Leonard Nimoy and the actress Sandra Zober. Early life Adam Nimoy was born in Los Angeles, California, to actor Leonard Nimoy and actress Sandra Zo ...

as himself *

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

as Dave Gibbs *

Lio Tipton Lio Tipton (born Analeigh Tipton; November 9, 1988) is an American actor and fashion model. Tipton is known for being the last eliminated on Cycle 11 of ''America's Next Top Model'' and for their roles in the films ''Crazy, Stupid, Love'' (2011 ...

as Vanessa Bennett *

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...

as himself *

Wayne Wilderson Wayne Wilderson (born January 30, 1966) is an American actor who has had guest spots on many successful television programs. Early life and education He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Breck School in 1984 and received ...

as Travis *

Jane Kaczmarek Jane Frances Kaczmarek (; born December 21, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Malcolm's mother Lois on the Fox television sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned her three Golden Globe nomination ...

as Dr. Gallo *

as Meemaw *

Creagen Dow Creagen Dow (born May 1, 1991) is an American actor, writer, producer and programmer who had a recurring role as Jeremiah Trottman on the Nickelodeon series ''Zoey 101''. He has also guest-starred on ''The Big Bang Theory'', '' Rizzoli & Isles' ...

as Maitre D' * Adam West as himself *

Blake Anderson Blake Raymond Anderson (born March 2, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, producer, screenwriter, and fashion designer. Beginning in 2006, Anderson helped create and join the sketch-comedy troupe Mail Order Comedy, which produced online videos ...

as Trevor *

as Alfred Hofstadter *

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

as himself *

Amanda Payton Amanda Payton is an American actor. She is best known for playing Nina Rudolph on the NBC sitcom '' Trial & Error'', Dr. Alison Parfit on the Sky Comedy/Peacock police comedy-drama '' Code 404'', and Holly in the CBS sitcom '' United States of Al ...

as Ainsley

Episodes

Ratings

Reception

The ninth season received mixed reviews. John Doyle of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' criticized the humor, writing that "The show isn't funny any more. The same tired jokes go around in circles. It's dated and stale", while Tom Eames of ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' criticized the relationship between characters Leonard and Penny, writing that they "certainly don't have some passionate, Ross and Rachel-style 'will they / won't they' romance, with fans dying to see them together. Even now they're married, it's a weirdly anti-climactic payoff - and it doesn't quite feel right that they're together." Ashley Bissette Sumerel of TV Fanatic wrote that "For a rather serious season premiere, "The Matrimonial Momentum" is still a lot of fun".

Notes

References

General references * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Bang Theory, The 2015 American television seasons 2016 American television seasons The Big Bang Theory seasons