You could be forgiven for wondering if the characters in The Big Bang Theory universe have been on television since the dawn of time. The show, from old-school comedic mastermind Chuck Lorre, centered around a group of nerdy, socially awkward scientists and premiered on CBS in 2007. According to Nielsen ratings, it was the No. 1 comedy for nine years. The series concluded in 2019, but the network already had a replacement. The prequel, Young Sheldon, which follows the childhood of Big Bang Theory protagonist Sheldon Cooper, began airing in 2017 and ran for 141 episodes. It’s been the No. 1 comedy on TV since Big Bang ended. The last episode in May drew a colossal-for-2024 11.7 million viewers. (At its 2011-12 peak, Two and a Half Men, another Lorre hit, averaged 15 million a week.)
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