The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom. Created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, this series is broadcasted since 2007, and is currently on its 10th season.
This show follows de daily lives of a group of four friends that are scientists, namely Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helber) and Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), and it mainly focuses on their jobs, nerdy hobbies and the relationship established between the group and Sheldon and Leonard’s neighbor, a young aspiring actress named Penny (Kaley Cuoco). From the 4th season onwards, two new characters were added to the main cast, Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) and Bernardette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch), who develop romantic relationships with Sheldon and Howard.
The series has three main scenarios: Leonard and Sheldon’s home, Penny’s home and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech); besides this locations, a lot of scenes are recorded in Cheesecake Factory, the restaurant where Penny works as a waitress on the first seasons, and at a comic store owned by Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman), a character that seldom appears on the series.
The Big Bang Theory can clearly be considered a comedy, and its primary focus are the distinctive personalities of all the main characters, exaggerated to a point that makes them almost caricatures, but never losing the sense of irony and sarcasm. The series is also very centered in the distinct relationships established between the characters, mainly based on the opposition of the rational and scientific minds of the four scientist and the pragmatism and common sense of Penny, which lacks on all other characters. The usage of puns and references to other series and fantasy and science fiction movies are very common throughout the majority of the episodes.
The Big Bang Theory is a successful sitcom, not only in the United States of America, where it is filmed, but also internationally, and it is broadcasted in several countries.
In addition to the success among the public, the series has won various Emmy Awards on technical categories, and the actor Jim Parsons also received the Emmy for Best Actor in Television Series – Comedy or Musical for his interpretation of the physicist Sheldon Cooper. He also received the Golden Globe in the same category, and both the series and the actor Johnny Galecki have been nominated for the Golden Globes as well. The Big Bang Theory and its cast has been and continues to be nominated for many other awards, such as Screen Actors Guild Awards, Kids’Choice Awards, Monte-Carlo TV Festival or People’s Choice Awards.
