The Big Bang Theory will come to an end after the finale of its current twelfth season, and fans will have to come to terms with a future of primetime without the exploits of the Big Bang crew of nerds. Fans aren't the only ones who will have reason to grieve, as the cast is leaving behind a huge chunk of their lives, and Mayim Bialik has gone in-depth about her grief over the show ending. Here's what she has to say about it:
This is not a linear process, this grief thing, and the end of TBBT has reminded me how deep and insidious grief can be. I’ve not only been grieving the end of this phase of my career and life; I have been reminded of the loss of my father, my marriage, my ex boyfriend, my beloved cat, Esau. My brother-in-law, my youth, my grandparents. And so here we are. Entering the final few episodes of The Big Bang Theory. I don’t know what these scripts will hold. I don’t want to know. I’m just going to show up every day and see what our wonderful writers have in store for us
Mayim Bialik has been open about her struggles with the end of The Big Bang Theory. After the news broke about the show ending, she admitted that she wasn't happy that the show would wrap at the end of Season 12, and even said that she feared it would "be very hard not to cry every day for the next 23 episodes."
Upon later reflection, Mayim Bialik found she had "a lot of mixed feelings," as the end of the show means getting to see what the rest of her life would be. In the new feature she wrote for Grok Nation, Bialik shared that the loss of The Big Bang Theory has reminded her of other big losses in her life, including that of her former boyfriend, who ended their relationship last holiday season. She's clearly saddened by the end of the series, but she doesn't sound defeated.
In the same feature, she stated that grieving the end of The Big Bang Theory means going through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Fans shouldn't be surprised that Mayim Bialik is on an emotional ride when it comes to the final stage of her time on the show. Whether she was explaining why it was hard for her to wear Amy's wedding dress or freaking out over meeting Mark Hamill, Bialik has always come across as incredibly invested in the show.
Despite her grief over the limited time left of The Big Bang Theory (which may have already said goodbye to one of its longest-running guest stars), Mayim Bialik intends to carry on as best she can for the remainder of Season 12. Here's how she puts it:
I’ll act as if it’s the first time I’ve played this character. I’ll recite my lines as if I have forever to play this character. I will, indeed, dance like no one’s watching, even though millions of people will be tuning in to see how our show unfolds and ultimately ends. Grief does not give us time off from life. There are still so many things to do to keep life going in the midst of grief. And we will be doing them until our time is up. Stay tuned.
Although her words aren't the cheeriest, Mayim Bialik's final "Stay tuned" gives the impression that there are still great things to come. Only time will tell what's in store for Amy and the rest of the characters before the end. Young Sheldon tells us that Sheldon will have kids someday; will Amy be pregnant by the Big Bang Theory series finale? Will Penny and Leonard work out their baby issues? And what about all the others?
Tune in to CBS on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of The Big Bang Theory. For some other shows that could be worth watching once Big Bang is done, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule.
