For all that the Hollywood strikes have thrown the industry into upheaval throughout the back half of 2023, quite a few fully finished high-profile projects are still on the horizon, such as prolific TV producer Chuck Lorre’s latest streaming show Bookie, which reteams him with Charlie Sheen many years after Sheen’s Two and a Half Men exit. With Lorre now gearing up for his newest comedy, it’s only natural that at least once conversation would turn to the topic of The Big Bang Theory, specifically the spinoff project that was formally announced by Max in April 2023. And while he didn’t have any massive updates to share, we’ll make do with any port in a storm.
While Young Sheldon is still holding strong on CBS, with Season 7 potentially its last, the Ian Armitage dramedy scratches a completely different TV itch from the broad and nerdy fun at the heart of Big Bang Theory, which is a big reason why the fandom was pumped to hear news of a third entry in the franchise. It sounds like patience will be key, though, as Chuck Lorre told TVLine the project is still in the incubation stages, saying:
It’s prenatal. Yeah, you don’t talk about the birth until the second trimester, I believe, is the rule. That’s a long way of saying no, I’ve got nothing to say about it other than it’s something that we are discussing.
To be clear, the project he’s referring to in completely non-specific terminology was reported as being part of the Big Bang Theory universe, though without any guarantees that any familiar characters would be involved. To that end, Lorre and co-creator Bill Prady have directly addressed the hard-to-imagine concept of a revival, which would be all but impossible to put together at this point given the ensemble’s busy schedules. And so the challenge becomes finding a way to focus on a different set of equally fun and interesting characters within this heightened reality.
Unfortunately, Chuck Lorre doesn’t make it sound like they’ve cracked the nut, as it were, to landing on a slam dunk approach. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything slightly negative, considering he’s been busy bringing Bookie to life with star Sebastian Maniscalco, which presumably hasn’t left a ton of spare time for brainstorming other projects. Now that his newest show will be debuting at the end of the month, it could allow for more Big Bang theorizing, so here’s hoping another major update is coming in early 2024.
Even if the new spinoff won’t be a full-blown revival centered on Sheldon, Amy, Penny and the rest of the gang, former co-star Melissa Rauch addressed a possible return to the role of Bernadette, as inspired by her expanded sitcom pedigree as part of the Night Court continuation series. But in her mind, that would be something to consider many years from now, and not an offer she’d accept so soon after the well-received series finale in 2019.
Check out Bookie with a Max subscription when it debuts on Thursday, November 30. In the meantime, all episodes of The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon are available to stream as well.
