The president of CBS Entertainment has a candid response to losing the nextBig Bang Theoryspinoff to the Max streaming service. Long in development, the next iteration of the popular sitcom franchise has received a flurry of casting updates recently. The project will see the return of Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom alongside Lauren Lupkus and Brian Posehn, who reprise their respective roles as Denise and Bert. However, unlike other titles in the franchise, includingYoung Sheldon,Georgie & Mandy, and the original series,the nextBig Bang Theoryshowwon’t be on CBS.
In an interview withThe Ankler’s Lesley Goldberg, CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach was asked about why the next spinoff will be on Max (formerly known as HBO Max) rather than CBS. The executive explained thatWarner Bros., which is one of the production companies behind the spinoff, worked with Max on the projectand stressed that the spinoff was never brought to CBS. Reisenbach concluded by saying that she’s excited to see the spinoff, though she admits her disappointment in the quote below:
It was never brought into us. Clearly that was something that [Big Bang producers] Warner Bros. and Max worked on together. But it was not brought into our side of the business. As a fan of all things Chuck Lorre and Big Bang Theory, I’m thrilled that there will continue to be more of the Big Bang Theory universe.As a network president, of course I’m disappointed, but such is life.
The Franchise Is A Big Streaming Asset
Max and Warner Bros. TV are under the same corporate umbrella: Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s likely, as the CBS Entertainment President alludes to, that the two sibling institutions came to a deal that is being looked at as a way of boosting Max. Just as it did well during its original run and in reruns,TheBig Bang Theoryis hugely popular on streaming. The original routinely appears on the Top 10 list of library titles. The same is true forthe concludedYoung Sheldon, which racked up billions of minutes viewed when it was licensed to Netflix towards the end of its run.
There may be something to do withthe storytelling approach of the spinoff that makes it a better fit for streamingrather than broadcast. However, that possibility remains speculative without knowing too much about what the spinoff will look like. It is known that the project will hail from franchise co-creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady alongsideBeacon 23andFree Guywriter Zak Penn, with John Ross Bowie alsoreprising his role fromThe Big Bang Theorycast.
Big Bang Theory’s Streaming Success In Numbers
The Original Continues To Break Records
According to a report from Nielsen, which was unveiled in January of this year,The Big Bang Theorywas the most-binged title in streaming for 2024. The sitcom, which first debuted in September 2007,averaged 265.5 episodes per viewer on Max,which roughly amounts to 29.1 billion minutes of total viewing. The data also found that 58% ofTBBTwatchers, which consists of 279 episodes, was from the all-important 18 to 49 demographic.
The success of the original has carried over to its spinoffs.Young Sheldon, the single-cam comedy about the childhood of Sheldon Cooper,generated close to 90 million views when it was added to Netflix. The numbers were shared by the streaming service itself, covering a period of viewership from July to December 2023. This tracks with the prequel’s linear viewership, where it was routinely one of the top-rated shows both on CBS and all of broadcast television. The trend has continued, albeit more mutedly, forGeorgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.
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The recently-debuted CBS show, which follows the characters of Georgie Cooper (Montana Jordan) and Mandy McAllister (Emily Osment), garnered close to8 million viewers in recent estimates and is network TV’s second highest-rated comedy. Although its numbers represent a decline when compared toYoung Sheldon, it is successful enough to point to the fact that there is an appetite for more stories in theBig Bang Theoryuniverse.
