The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon never quite pulled off a crossover with Kaley Cuoco's Penny somehow ending up on the series all about Sheldon Cooper's pre-Big Bang Theory life, but Young Sheldon still found a way to incorporate Cuoco into a recent episode. The catch? She wasn't playing Penny, and she wasn't even credited in the episode. It fell to Young Sheldon co-creator and former Big Bang Theory executive producer Steve Molaro to confirm Cuoco's contribution.
Young Sheldon fans watching the December 12 episode noticed that the voice of the pool monster from Sheldon's nightmare sounded an awful lot like Kaley Cuoco, who spent more than a decade on CBS as Penny. Basically, she has a recognizable voice, and Steve Molaro shared with TVLine that she really did have a part to play on Young Sheldon:
That was absolutely the voice of Kaley as pool water. I needed someone to do the voice. I knew I wanted it to be female and kinda sexy, and I said, ‘Well, duh! Kaley is perfect for this.'
Who would have guessed that a day would come when Young Sheldon needed a sexy, female voice for the pool monster who turned up in Sheldon's nightmare? Good thing Steve Molaro could call up Kaley Cuoco to tackle the watery role!
Kaley Cuoco didn't actually sound like Penny as the pool monster (and she certainly did not sound like Harley Quinn), so it's understandable that Young Sheldon viewers might have needed Steve Molaro's confirmation to be 100% confident that Cuoco was the woman behind the pool monster. She wasn't credited, after all!
So, how did Steve Molaro actually get Kaley Cuoco to lend her voice to young Sheldon's pool monster? As it turns out, he didn't have to do any convincing. Molaro shared what brought Cuoco on board for the Young Sheldon voice role:
I said, ‘Hey, I have a weird pitch for you: Sheldon has a nightmare, and he has to go to this pool, and he speaks to the pool water. Do you want to be the voice of pool water?' She just laughed and said, ‘Absolutely, I do.'
If only we could all just call up Kaley Cuoco to ask her to help us out! In all seriousness, a Big Bang Theory star other than Jim Parsons (who narrates Young Sheldon) showing up for the spinoff is a pretty big deal, and one that seems like it would be hyped by CBS or at least on social media ahead of the pool monster's debut.
Steve Molaro went on to clarify why Kaley Cuoco wasn't advertised as part of the episode, sharing that he sometimes feels "a little weird about things being over-promoted," and Cuoco wanted to keep her contribution "under wraps." Considering how little of the episode the pool monster was actually in, keeping Cuoco's voice work a secret may have been for the best!
In case you missed Kaley Cuoco's turn as the pool monster on Young Sheldon, take a look:
Penny would never, right? Technically Young Sheldon did find a way to include Penny right after The Big Bang Theory wrapped, but not Penny as played by Kaley Cuoco. Since it's never been very likely that an adult Penny would somehow turn up on Young Sheldon, Cuoco lending her voice as the pool monster may be the best fans will get!
See what happens next for Sheldon Cooper when new episodes of Young Sheldon air Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. If you're in the market for some alternate TV shows, swing by our 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule.
