The eighth 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 ...

with two back-to-back episodes on Monday, September 22, 2014. The season returned to its regular Thursday night time slot on October 30 for the season's seventh episode. The season concluded on May 7, 2015. 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.

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 ...

submitted the episode "The Prom Equivalency" for consideration due to her nomination for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...

at the

67th Primetime Emmy Awards The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2014 until May 31, 2015, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 20, 2015 at the Mi ...

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'' ...

submitted the episode "The Maternal Combustion" for consideration due to her nomination for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

at the

67th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards The 67th Annual Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony was held on September 12, 2015, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. The event was broadcast in the U.S. by FXX on September 19, 2015. The ceremony was in conjunction wit ...

Carol Ann Susi Carol Ann Susi (February 2, 1952 – November 11, 2014) was an American actress whose career spanned 40 years. Her best known roles were probably her first and last; she debuted as the recurring character of semi-competent but likable intern Mo ...

, the voice of the never-seen Mrs. Wolowitz, died of cancer on November 11, 2014, at age 62. In the season's fifteenth episode, "

The Comic Book Store Regeneration "The Comic Book Store Regeneration" is the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of ''The Big Bang Theory'', which first aired on CBS on February 19, 2015. It is the 174th episode overall. "The Comic Book Store Regeneration" is dedicated to Caro ...

", Howard Wolowitz receives a phone call that his mother has died while visiting family in Florida.

Production

In February 2014, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves confirmed an eighth season, when announcing that the first part of the new season would air 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 2014, CBS announced at its annual upfront presentation, that the series would begin its eighth season on Mondays, before returning to the Thursday slot it has held since 2010 on October 30, once the football games end.

Delay

Production for the season was expected to begin on July 30, 2014, however the start was delayed due to the five main cast members' desire to renegotiate new contracts, with Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco seeking approximately $1 million per episode, as well as more backend money. Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar negotiated together, separate from Galecki, Parsons and Cuoco's negotiations. Production was officially delayed on July 30, due to the contract negotiations, and was rescheduled for August 6, 2014. On August 4, Galecki, Parsons 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. 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. The first table read for season 8 took place on August 6.

Premiere

The first episode of season 8, " The Locomotion Interruption", first aired in the US on September 22, 2014. In Australia, season 8 premiered on October 13, 2014. In the UK, "The Locomotion Interruption" first aired on October 23, 2014.

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 ...

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 ...

as Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali *

as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler *

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 ...

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 Bloom

Special guest cast

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

as Dr. Oliver Lorvis *

LeVar Burton Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''Root ...

as himself *

Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...

as himself *

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

as himself (voiceover)

Recurring cast

Mrs. Wolowitz 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'', creat ...

Regina King Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her one ...

as Janine Davis *

Michael Massimino Michael James Massimino (born August 19, 1962) is an American professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University and a former NASA astronaut. He is the senior advisor of space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Early l ...

as himself * Laura Spencer as Emily Sweeney *

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 *

Brian George Brian George (born 1 July 1952) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt in ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), the Indian gynecologist father of Raj Koothrappali in ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019 ...

as Dr. V.M. Koothrappali *

Alice Amter Alice Amter (born 11 May 1966) Mrs. Koothrappali *

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 *

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 ...

as Mary Cooper *

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 ...

* Stephen Hawking as himself

Guest cast

Stephen Root Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the television sitcom ''NewsRadio'', as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and provided the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Stricklan ...

as Dan * Kara Luiz as Jeanie * Paul Wilson as Professor Sharpe * Angela Relucio as Hostess * Max Adler as The Zombie *

Tate Ellington James Tate Ellington (born April 17, 1979) is an American actor. He portrayed Aidan Hall, the best friend of Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson) in the 2010 romantic drama film '' Remember Me''. Ellington starred as Oliver Hunt in ''The Elephant Kin ...

as Mitchell *

Matt Bennett Matt Bennett (born November 13, 1991) is an American actor. He is known for playing the role of Robbie Shapiro in the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Victorious'' and for starring in the Will Ferrell-produced film ''The Virginity Hit''. Early life Bennett ...

as Josh *

Sara Erikson Sara Erikson is an American television and film actress. Career Erikson is known for her recurring role as Robyn Marquette, Vince's scheming ex-girlfriend and co-worker in '' What I Like About You'', and various characters in the Jeff Foxwor ...

as Gwen * Kelli Goss as Chelsea

Episodes

Ratings

Reception

The eighth season received positive reviews. MaryAnn Sleasman of

TV.com TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...

praised character developments, and wrote that "there's a lot to be excited about with regard to this coming season" with some of the central characters more comfortable around each other. Emily Gould of ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'' criticized the humor, writing that "I watched all seven episodes that had aired so far this season and didn't so much as expel air forcefully from my nose in response to any of the jokes". Oliver Sava of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' also criticized the humor, writing that "A lot of the jokes are tired and the plotlines are standard sitcom material, but if it's worked for seven seasons, why switch it up now?"

References

;General references * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Bang Theory, The 2014 American television seasons 2015 American television seasons The Big Bang Theory seasons