notyoda

I have always dreaded this moment happening.

Fingers crossed for a kind soul out there being able to attend and report back!

stardustmelody77

'Big Bang Theory' Boss Previews New Pairings in Season 7

CBS’ The Big Bang Theory will expand its core circle of friendships to further explore new pairings among the show’s central group when season seven of TV’s No. 1 comedy returns in the fall.

While Leonard is at sea on an expedition for Stephen Hawking, Penny and Sheldon will be thrown together out of necessity as the friends and neighbors will explore more of their friendship when Amy and Bernadette will hit the road together for the first time without their blond “bestie."

Meanwhile, Raj will use his newfound ability to talk to women without the assistance of alcohol in a renewed quest for love that (shockingly!) won’t be as easy as he thinks.

The Hollywood Reporter caught up with showrunnerSteve Molaro for an early look at the upcoming seventh season of the series — and whether Emmy nominee Bob Newhart (as well as Raj’s love interestKate Micucci) will be back.


THR: How will we see Raj (Kunal Nayyar) navigate his new skill of talking to women?
Molaro: He can speak to women without the aid of alcohol, but that does not mean he’s any good at it. So, lest anybody think he’s about to be a player, I don’t think that’s the case. We hit it in the first episode back, and he’s out looking to try to meet a new woman.

THR: Could Kate Micucci return?
Molaro: We’re still figuring everything out, but we love Kate and we would certainly love to see her again at some point when the time is right.

THR: With Raj on a newfound hunt for love, could his parents pay him a visit in Pasadena?
Molaro: We’ve talked about having his parents come to the states and visit, but we just need to find the right story to make that happen, and we haven’t quite cracked that yet.

THR: Will we see Leonard (Johnny Galecki) at sea?
Molaro: The first scene back is a really big fun scene. It’s been three or four months since he’s been gone, and we will see him on a boat. He will come back fairly early on, and we will see him out there. The expedition is to try to prove one of Stephen Hawking’s theories, but he will not be rolling around on the boat.

THR: How will Leonard and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) handle the difference between them?
Molaro: You’re going to be surprised with how Leonard’s handling the distance with Penny and we will go right into the face of that on the first episode back.He’s having a really good time on that boat. Johnny is going to get a little wet and there will be some Skype/satellite calls.

THR: How will Penny and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) fare during Leonard’s absence?
Molaro: You will see that Penny and Sheldon are both missing Leonard and are spending some quality time together and getting closer than ever — which I love.

THR: There’s a large contingent of fans interested in seeing romance between Penny and Sheldon. Is that something we’ll see?
Molaro: Probably not. But I love that people root for that. I love the Penny/Sheldon relationship as much as I love anything on this show. I think her love for him is very real, as is Kaley and Jim’s relationship in real life. I think that translates. She is like the big sister who is taking care of him — or sort of a mother figure. I go back and watch the pilot where she meets them and it took a while, but she really loves these guys; it’s very tangible and my favorite thing. As annoying as he is, she cares so much and would never go there. She’s always there for him; they may have fights, but she’s there and you can feel it. The love is real between all seven characters.

THR: Might Sheldon begin crashing Penny, Amy (Mayim Bialik) and Bernadette’s (Melissa Rauch) ladies’ nights?
Molaro: I don’t know how interested he is in that, but he’s got a special spot in his heart for Penny because he knows he can count on her and she’s on his side.

THR: Last season we learned that Penny is a decent actress. What’s in store for her professionally this season?
Molaro: She’s actually a pretty good actress, but that doesn’t mean she’ll necessarily have a great career. I think it’s pretty realistic. She’s got a commercial, little things here and there, she’s taking her acting classes, but realistically the odds of her being a superstar are not great. So there are no plans for her to breakout in some giant career at the moment.

THR: Could we see her get something more substantial than a play?
Molaro: Nothing is ruled out, and it’s nice that she can actually act when she needs to.

THR: How will Amy handle Sheldon’s reliance on Penny in Leonard’s absence?
Molaro: We don’t hit that too hard. I don’t think Amy sees Penny as a threat. She loves Penny.

THR: Where do Amy and Sheldon go from the Dungeons and Dragons game?
Molaro: They continue to move along very slowly. We listen to the characters and let them go where they want to go, but she’s going to keep pulling him in some direction. And he will keep resisting it, and we’ll see how far she can get him to go that we’re all comfortable with.

THR: What do Bernadette and Howard (Simon Helberg) have coming? Will we see them go back to the subject of children? Maybe shopping for a home?
Molaro: I don’t think there are any children in the offering at the moment. It’s possible [they could shop for a home]. We’ve talked about that, but then his mom is always a factor and will continue to be. It’s all to be determined. We’re just digging in; we’re only figuring out episode three right now.

THR: Any dream guest stars for this season?
Molaro: Nothing is set yet, but Zachary Quinto has said publicly he would very much like to do the show, and we would very much like to have him. So if that could work out, we would be very happy.

THR: What about William Shatner, especially now that he’s working with Kaley?
Molaro: Kaley is his daughter, technically [laughs]. It would be fun, and we just need to find a new, fun take on how to use him in a way that would be special. And if we could do that, absolutely yes.

THR: Bob Newhart has said he’d like to return — will he be back?
Molaro: I think so. We just have to find the right way to use him, the right story. But that was a treat for all of us — and he got the Emmy nomination for it.

THR: You said at Comic-Con that you’ll be exploring some new pairings this season. How will we see that with Amy and Bernadette?
Molaro: That’s going to happen in the first episode back, and it’s the first time they hang out without Penny, ever. They’re going to a science conference in Sacramento and hang out in the hotel bar. Things happen [laughs].

The Big Bang Theory returns Thursday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. with back-to-back episodes on CBS. Hit the comments with your hopes for season seven.

carl1970

Finally some specific details coming out about this upcoming season.
I wonder what Leonard is doing with Penny via the Skype/satellite calls.

Thanks for posting this Stardust.

notyoda

Cool! Thanks for posting the article.

I like the idea of them mixing up the pairings a bit - the Amy and Bernie trip sounds like a good start. We never get to see much of Bernadette's life without Howard, (we didn't get much Amy in her lab last year either!), it will be good to see them out and about... hopefully not moaning too much about their men.

ennaxor

Loving the new info! I think I'm most excited about seeing Bernadette and Amy together without Penny - I hadn't expected that to be the first episode!

And I was able to get a standby ticket this morning for the second taping... I still have to check at work about switching my schedule that week so I can go, but I'm not foreseeing that being a problem.

WeBuiltThePyramids

I'm excited about that too - her guy is gone, her friends are off somewhere else, so she has to hang out with Sheldon...oh wait, she is actually friends with him, she forgets that sometimes. That's how I foresee that going down. I'm excited for it. And I'm glad that Leonard's enjoying himself on that trip - it's nice to see that he's successful on his own.

And when is the date for the first taping? I need to know how long I'm safe at this thread.

moyrani

Rox! I hope to see you there! I got a ticket too.

BTW, I have an extra standby ticket to give away if anyone wants it.

Nicole - the first taping is on August 20th but we don't have a reliable source of reports yet.

123sprinkles

Oh, I was able to get a standby ticket as well. Let's all just hope that one of us at least gets to go. I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

moyrani

Hi sprinkles! Nice to see you around again.
At this rate, we will be able to have a mini FF party at that taping.

bigbangsheldon

Hi Sprinkles!!

WeBuiltThePyramids

I want the standby ticket. However, I cannot have the standby ticket.

And thanks for that date - I was hoping it'd be a week earlier so I'd be without wifi and not be tempted to read the report if one does show up. IF LEONARD IS HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE ON THAT BOAT I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT DAMMIT.

moyrani

Aww Nicole. I wish you could go.


Now, what do you mean by you wanting to know if Leonard is having the time of his life? He'll just be wrestling sharks.

123sprinkles

"Hillo."

Looks like Raj will have some relationship stories and go through some bumps along the way. He's like the Ted Mosby of The Big Bang Theory.

lancer1993

Thanks for the interview, love the details. Just hope we get something from the first taping.

WeBuiltThePyramids

WELL IF HE'S HAVING A GOOD TIME ON THE BOAT I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT. THE GUY DESERVES TO HAVE A GOOD OL' SCIENCE TIME AWAY FROM EVERYONE HE'S CLOSE WITH.