It was recently the season to be jolly and festive for the holidays, and several networks have kicked off 2017 with that merriment still intact, and this weekend kicked off more good news coming from the TCA winter press event. Alas, while CBS had positive announcements for some projects, those did not include a renewal for Season 11 of the stalwart ratings smash The Big Bang Theory, which has been the subject of series-ending rumors partially due to unresolved contract deals for the cast. The issue was addressed, however, and here's how CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller played down the worry.
We are in negotiations. It is business as usual. These are going to be, I think, the normal tough negotiations when you in a situation like this, but we are guardedly optimistic.
No one can know for sure what's happening with Season 11 (and beyond) contract negotiations besides the people who are actively involved with them, so until someone says otherwise, it seems like everything is going accordingly, at least for The Big Bang Theory itself. It's rare that the ensemble of a network series (or any series, really) disputes contracts so hard that the show is permanently shut down, and while there have been notable cases where behind-the-scenes dealings were publicized - The Simpsons and Friends come to mind - that hasn't really been the case with The Big Bang Theory. And Glenn Geller's words to Deadline will hopefully soothe folks.
When asked about a potential Season 11, stars like Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar have played things strangely down the middle, shielding their optimism and spawning speculation that maybe the show could possibly come to an end soon. (Kaley Cuoco, though, was super-positive.) But the coming months will likely be very kind to fans of The Big Bang Theory, if the past repeats itself. The last time CBS put in a season renewal for Big Bang, it was during the back end of Season 7, and the network rewarded the ratings machine with a massive three-season order. And guess when the cast's contract negotiations were completed? Several months after Seasons 8-10 were confirmed. We're still on the good side of that timeline.
With The Big Bang Theory, it's possible some fans don't understand why network execs would be waffling on setting new seasons in stone, when that isn't necessarily the case. Showrunner Steve Molaro has said in the past that everyone's mindset is on getting Season 10 put together to the best of everyone's abilities, and it'll be after that point when the bigger renewal conversations can start going around. Plus, there's that Sheldon-based spinoff in development, which will likely also enter into those discussions. For now, though, they've got to keep the mystery alive, I guess. A mystery like "what Bernadette and Howard's baby looks like."
For now, we'll have to make do with the current season of The Big Bang Theory, which airs on CBS on Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see when other new shows and returning shows will hit the airwave, head to our midseason premiere schedule.
