The Big Bang Theory Is a Big Bang!
An Industrial Case Study of CBS’s The Big Bang Theory
Josef Adalian asserts, “CBS, almost single-handedly, is keeping the off-network comedy pipeline supplied with fresh product” (2009). The purpose of this essay is to provide an overview of the television program The Big Bang Theory in the larger industrial and commercial context of the television industry, while also dissecting the formulaic method adhered to in the making of a comedy sitcom by paying particular attention to the practices of creator Chuck Lorre. Some sitcoms become international favourites and continue to draw in viewers post-season via re-run, while others are unable to succeed during their initial airing. What does it take for a television show to outlive those around it who are quickly drowning? As CBS rises in the realm of comedy while other competitors continue to struggle, it is imperative to look closely at the television shows that do succeed, drawing mass appeal, and producing skyrocketing ratings and subsequently, the big bucks.
CBS is one of the three national networks that defined the structure of The Classic Network Era. This era “set long lasting standards for television programming formats and advertising-supported channels, while heralding the rise of television as a central outlet for political and public affairs information” (Mittell, 2010). The era established norms that still persist today in all facets of television. The network system emerged in the 1940s out of the radio industry, as the three major radio networks all quickly established themselves as television’s Big Three: ABC, CBS, and NBC (Mittell, 2010). In the early 1970s, CBS began producing a group of “socially engaged sitcoms” to target “younger urban audiences”, which engaged with social issues more directly (Mittell, 2010). Sitcoms succeeding today tend to deal with social issues as a predominant theme, but have been able to cater to audiences of a much wider age demographic (which will be discussed in further detail on a latter page). In his paper titled “CBS Sitcoms Thrive, Fueling Studios, Syndie”, Adalian states, “Blockbuster comedies such as ‘Friends’ and ‘Seinfeld’ left prime time years ago, but Must-See TV is alive and well. It just moved to CBS” (2009). While it had seemed that the death of the sitcom was upon us, “the network that introduced Americans to half-hour comedy through ‘I Love Lucy’ has once again asserted its dominance over the genre. From both a cultural and commercial perspective, no other network (including former comedy champ NBC) comes close in the genre to matching CBS's Monday night lineup of laughs” (Adalian, 2009).
The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. Bill Prady will act as a show-runner (the-big-bang-theory.com, n.d.). It is produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Television, and airs in the United States on the CBS network. The copyright holder is Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc (wikipedia.com, n.d.). The show premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007. The runtime is 21 minutes. James Burrows directed the pilot, while Mark Cendrowski directs the ensuing episodes. The producers are Steve Molaro, Mike Collier, Faye Oshima Belyeu. The editor is Peter Chakos. It is internationally broadcasted in sixty-five countries (wikipedia, n.d.). The show is currently into its fourth season.
Chuck Lorre, birth name Charles Michael Levine, is an award-winning creator, director, producer, composer, and writer. He has conquered the entertainment industry with hit shows like Grace Under Fire, Dharma & Greg, Roseanne, and Cybill, as well as the number one comedy on television and four year People’s Choice Award winner, Two and a Half Men and of course sophomore series The Big Bang Theory. Lorre became a supervising producer on the ABC/Carsey-Werner hit comedy Roseanne in 1991. Over the next two seasons, during which he was upped to co-executive producer, Lorre helped bring the show to the height of its critical and popular acclaim. “Lorre dominated network television by single-handedly keeping the multi-camera sitcom alive in creating hit series that generate mass appeal” (imdb.com, n.d.). He has won several awards including the Television Showman of the Year Award in 2009, and he was awarded with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later on in 2009 (imdb.com, wikipedia.com, n.d.).
Lorre has many recognizable trademarks across all of his shows. He often uses middle-aged characters discovering or experimenting sexuality; he uses two main characters as a double act; he includes post-end credits vanity cards (which have drawn much attention, including a website with each one posted allowing visitors to read them in full at http://chucklorre.com/index-bbt.php); characters who make fun of their own appearances; shows usually feature a small, core cast (imdb.com). Anyone who is familiar with any of Lorre’s work can quickly connect these trademarks with multiple sitcoms he is involved with. For example, Two and a Half Men features a small, core cast including two main characters, Charlie and Alan Harper, who are brothers and must live together. They are middle-aged. Charlie is very promiscuous, while Alan has trouble interacting with women. Alan makes fun of his own appearance, and is assisted by his brother Charlie, son Jake, cleaning woman Berta, his ex-wife, and his own mother. This show follows every one of Lorre’s “trademarks”. It seems to ring true that the combination of these trademarks result in a promising comedy, and has become somewhat of a formula when considering Lorre’s body of work. The Big Bang Theory features two main characters that live together, Sheldon and Leonard, who are sexually (and socially) unaware. The remainder of the cast comprises a small, core ensemble including Penny, Wolowitz, and Koothrapalli. Leonard is particularly self-conscious when it comes to his own appearance and is often comparing himself to other men he sees Penny with, based on their appearances. The only major difference between the structure and content of these two shows is the age difference of the characters. The characters of each show are dealing with different stages of their lives. The two shows are among the highest rated comedies on television, and their syndication has only enhanced their popularity, allowing new audiences to catch old episodes.
Bill Prady is a creator on The Big Bang Theory and he is a TV writer and producer. He has worked on many projects including the HBO series Dream On, The Cosby Show, Married With Children, Dharma & Greg, and The Gilmore Girls (imdb.com, the-big-bang-theory.com, n.d.). He is an executive producer on The Big Bang Theory, he is actively writing and directing for the show, and he also acts as the show-runner. He was also the show-runner for Dharma & Greg.
The Big Bang Theory centers around two nerdy physicists, Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons), who share an apartment together in Pasadena, California. Leonard Hofstadter is an experimental physicist and Sheldon Cooper is a theoretical physicist. Two of Leonard’s friends Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), the flirty aerospace engineer, and Rajesh Kothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), the shy particle astrophysicist, are equally geeky and socially awkward. The four characters work at the university. They are brilliant, but their scientific skills do not transfer into the social world, and this results in comical, awkward, social interactions with outsiders of their introverted group. All of this begins to change when an attractive blonde waitress/aspiring actress named Penny (Kaley Cuoco) moves in across the hall. Leonard and Sheldon's geekiness and intellect are contrasted for comic effect with Penny's social skills and common sense. While Sheldon insists on avoiding Penny, and sees no reason for them to speak, Leonard sees in Penny a whole new universe of possibilities. Chuck Lorre explains that Leonard (played by Johnny Galecki, who starred on "Roseanne" as a teen) and Sheldon (newcomer Jim Parsons) are "brilliant in how their minds work, but inept in ways the normal civilian takes for granted, which is hopefully where we mine a lot of comedy," Lorre says (as cited by Jurgensen, 2008).
“In the show's original pilot episode, the Penny character (portrayed by a different actress) was a hard-drinking woman with a caustic attitude toward the nerds next door. It didn't work. The audience hated her because they were so protective of these little lambs," Lorre says. In a rare move, CBS ordered a second pilot. Lorre and Bill Prady rewrote the script, transforming Penny and adding two more scientists to the ensemble: Howard, the randy aerospace engineer who lives with his mom, and Rajesh, who goes mute in the presence of women (Jurgensen, 2008).
The lead characters are named Sheldon and Leonard “after actor, director, writer, and producer Sheldon Leonard”. He passed away in 1996. In 2007 he was given a posthumous “tip of the hat” in the situation comedy The Big Bang Theory (wikipedia.com, n.d.).
David Saltzberg, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California in Los Angeles checks scripts and provides dialogue, math equations, and diagrams used as props in the show (wikipedia.com, n.d.).
For the first three seasons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, and Jim Parsons, the three main stars of the show received at most $60,000 per episode. The salary for the three went up to $200,000 per episode for the fourth season. According to their contracts, their pay will go up an additional $50,000 per episode every year culminating in $350,000 per episode in the seventh season (wikipedia.com, n.d.). “That’s still a far cry from the nearly $2 million per episode earned by Charlie Sheen on CBS’s veteran Two and a Half Men whose ratings The Big Bang Theory surpassed last season” (Hibberd, 2010).
Production on the show was halted on November 6, 2007 due to the Writers Guild of America Strike. It returned on March 17, 2008 in an earlier time slot, and with nine new episodes. After the strike ended, and many other new sitcoms had been dropped, the show was picked up and renewed for a second season, which would air in the 2008-2009 season. With increasing ratings, the show received a two-year renewal in March 2009, taking it through to its fourth season in 2010-2011 (wikipedia.com, n.d.).
The U.S. Standard Ratings lists the seasonal ratings based on average total viewers per episode of The Big Bang Theory on CBS. The ratings indicate an increasing number of viewers as each season progresses. According to the ratings, during season one which aired 2007-2008, 8.34 million viewers tuned in to CBS to watch. The second season aired 2008-2009 and showed an increase in viewers with 10.01 million. In the third season, which aired 2009-2010, a whopping 14.02 million viewers caught the show on CBS. The third season premiere of the sitcom in its new time period delivered its largest audience ever with series high ratings in adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 (cbspressexpress.com, 2010). “CBS wasn’t getting any traction with its second comedy block on Wednesday nights at 8pm but didn’t want to give up on the second comedy block. It shipped Survivor to Wednesdays at 8pm, and moved its strongest comedy with young adults, The Big Bang Theory from Mondays at 9:30p to Thursdays at 8pm to spearhead the second comedy block” (Seidman, 2010).
Season four has just commenced and (as of the second episode) on average the total viewers per episode are 13.5 million, which is a slight decrease since the third season. The ratings for the third episode of season four are now out and show that the move to Thursdays is paying off for CBS as the ratings continue to climb. The show finished first in its slot in all key demographics (the-big-bang-theory.com). “Among viewers ages 18 to 49, [the show] currently outranks all comedies launched in the last two years” (Jurgensen, 2008).
The Big Bang Theory has also gained popularity in Canada. On April 11, 2010 the Toronto Star reported the show “has quietly become Canada’s most-watched comedy” (Brioux, 2010). CBS moved the show to Thursdays after the Wednesday time slot had showed a decrease in ratings, in an attempt to launch a new comedy block (Hibberd, 2010). Meanwhile, last season, CTV had the show on Monday nights, and shifted the comedy to Thursday nights following in CBS’ footsteps. The move paid off for broadcaster CTV which pulled in 3.11 million viewers, making The Big Bang Theory the second most-watched show comedy ever on Canadian television since the finale of Friends (hollywoodreporter.com, n.d.).
In May 2010, it was reported that the show has been picked up for syndication by both Fox affiliates and TBS. Broadcasting of old shows will begin in the fall of 2011. Although details of the syndication deal have not been revealed, it has been reported that the deal “set a record price for a cable off-network sitcom purchase”. CTV Network in Canada has been airing broadcast syndication of the first three seasons since September 7, 2010. It airs Monday through Friday weeknights at 7:30 p.m. local time zone. Canada is watching seasons one through three every weeknight a full year ahead of the U.S. Chuck Lorre confirms, “[m]ore people discover the show in reruns than they would necessarily when it is up against nine dramas, football games, dancing amputees and whatnot”(as cited in Business Source Complete, 2008).
In August 2009, the sitcom won the best comedy series TCA award and Jim Parsons won the award for individual achievement in comedy. In 2010, the show won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Comedy, while Parsons won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The show continues to receive nominations year after year for the outstanding acting, writing, and production design. When the third season premiered on September 21, 2009, it ranked as CBS’s highest rated show of that evening in the adults 18-49 demographic, along with a then series-high 12.83 million viewers (imdb.com, wikipedia.com, n.d.).
“Like the show itself, however, these characters haven't become household names -- no Kramers or Phoebes here”. That helps “illustrate how the parameters for a hit have shifted for network comedies as audiences have splintered, pulled away by cable television, the Internet and other entertainment options”. While it has been a constant struggle for the television industry as a whole to keep up with the technological trends and advances, including the downloading and streaming of full-length television shows commercial-free on the internet, it is also a head-to-head battle between the original Big Three networks: ABC, NBC, and CBS. CBS is undoubtedly winning the war as of late. How much time will go by, and how much money will be made before NBC and ABC realize all of CBS’s biggest hits are comprised of a simple equation of comedy must-haves being used to their full potential by creator Chuck Lorre. Even when scientific mumbo jumbo is inserted in the dialogue, terms and principles that the majority of the television watching population will not understand, Lorre’s trademark formula proves to be a success. As it stands, as far as anyone seems to be concerned, CBS is currently without competition in the world of half-hour situation comedies as The Big Bang Theory continues to climb the ratings ladder.
References
The Big Bang Theory. (2010, July). Retrieved from http://www.cbspressexpress.com
The Big Bang Theory. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898266/
The Big Bang Theory. (2010, October 8). In Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from
Brioux, B. (2010, April 11). “The Big Bang Theory gets bigger in Canada”. The Star. Retrieved from
Building on Syndication. (2008, Dec 15). Business Source Complete. Retrieved from
Hibberd, J. (2010, Sept 15). ‘Big Bang Theory’ cast gets Salary Bump. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com
Jurgensen, J. (2008, Dec 12). “Television: A Nerdy Comedy’s Winning Formula --- As sitcoms
wane, ‘The Big Bang Theory’ has become an unlikely ratings hit.” The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from file:///Users/sarenabrown/Desktop/Document%20View%20-%20comedy%20formula.webarchive
Mittell, J. (2010). Television and American Culture. New York: Oxford University Press.
Seidman, R. (2010, Aug 19) How Big will it Bang? Retrieved from http://tvbythenumbers.com
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