‘The Big Bang Theory’ Co-Creator Chuck Lorre Calls Kaley Cuoco’s Penny ‘Sadly One-Dimensional’ Early In Sitcom: “Took A While To Figure Out”
deadline.comThe Big Bang Theory may be defying the laws of TV mechanics with its storied success, but there’s one thing co-creator Chuck Lorre said the series “missed” early on with regard to Kaley Cuoco‘s character Penny.
In the first episode of The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast opposite former Warner Bros. Television Group chairman and CEO Peter Roth, Lorre — who also co-created Two and a Half Men — discussed the failed unaired pilot of the sitcom and being given a “do-over” following penning a “sh—-y” script alongside collaborator Bill Prady.
The original inaugural episode featured two female main characters, Katie (Amanda Walsh) and Gilda (Iris Bahr), before Kaley Cuoco eventually stepped in as the lead following a rewrite and retaping of what would become the second and aired pilot a year later. “The magic of Kaley was, Kaley’s character — as we figured this thing out on the fly — was amused by [Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki‘s characters], was not critical.
If she got angry, it wasn’t harsh. The audience really responded to that,” Lorre explained. He added, “She was never judgmental about these characters.
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