Image Credit: Monty Brinton/CBSFirst the good news: Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco is expected to make a full recovery in the wake of a weekend horseback-riding accident that left her with a fractured leg.
Now the bad news: It looks like the CBS hitcom will be Penny-less for more than one episode.
Although a Warner Bros. spokesperson declined to comment, a Big Bang source confirms that Cuoco—who remains hospitalized in Los Angeles—is now expected to miss “a few” episodes; initial reports had her missing just a single episode.
Additionally, the show—which was previously scheduled to go on hiatus next week—will shut down production for an additional week. Producers will use the extra downtime to determine how best to explain Cuoco’s absence onscreen (Mandi Bierly’s got a few ideas!).
The source points out that Big Bang‘s air schedule will not be impacted by the disruption, which comes as the series is making a high-profile move to Thursday nights. Judging by how well Sheldon & Co. performed in repeats last night, industry analysts (read: me) expect next week’s fourth-season premiere to trounce the competition.
And I repeat: Get well soon, KC!
Hope she doesn’t miss too many episodes. She brings a different point of view for the guys.
She really does, doesn’t she? I always thought Kaley was the most underrated member of that ensemble.
agreed
I agree. I love the show and premise and “the guys”, but I really want to see more Kaley. A little Jim Parsons goes a long ways.
agreed! she is kind of the glue for the show for me, she grounds it to a a more humane level. Even though the fellas are hilarious, not many of us have super-smart friends and without Penny the show would not be very relatable.
Agreed. I adore her every time she’s on screen. She’s really great in the role.
I love Kaley, and I’ll miss her absence from the show terribly. And one of the show’s problems these days lies in the blog’s phrase “Sheldon & Co.”
I’ve been dreading this series becoming The Sheldon Show, with just about every episode centering on him, but the producers seem intent on doing to it what Fonzie did to “Happy Days.” As much as I love the show, I think I’d rather see several Sheldon-less episodes to give the others more opportunities to shine.
Agree about the Sheldon Show comment, but I have say that I find Penny to be the most boring character on the show – and Leonard is heading down that road as well – more Wolowitz and Koothrapali
If sitcoms weren’t notorious for not adding main characters, I’d suggest adding a new female as a main cast member to cover the absence (like…oh say… Sara Gilbert?) It would help bridge the Kaley gap, PLUS it would be something that the show as a whole needs.
If they have to I’m sure the writers will bring back Sara’s character as well as maybe do something with Wolowitz’s GF. Of course, that would all depend on either actress’ availability.
Maybe they can send the guys on another road trip for work or to Sheldon’s mother in Texas or to watch Leonard’s mom get some kind of reward or to visit Raj’s parents in India which might take up a few episodes.
I meant “some kind of award.” I definitely need glasses for my glasses.
ooooh Sheldon in India — can you imagine ?????
Sara Gilbert’s going to be on a View-like talk show this fall. I doubt she’s available.
This is bad news. I want Kaley to get well, obviously, but I will miss Penny a lot. I hope she can make it back soon.
Poor girl. I was waiting for them to come out and say she would be out longer than they first thought. I broke my leg and ankle once and the “6-8 weeks” they first told me in the hospital was an incredible understatement for how long it took me to truly get back to normal. If she’s still in the hospital I’d wager it’s a bad break.
Poor thing. I hope they can figure out a way to give her the stress-free recovery time she needs. Broken legs suck.
Just have her land a movie role on location, and she meets a new SMART, handsome guy (a special effects guy)from the movie set. He has a break from work-comes home with her, and meets the other guys. He surprisingly blows the other guys away at their first meeting. Leonard becomes jealous.. BAM. An episode.
I’m kind of miffed that this series got pushed to Thursday night. My Thursday night schedule is already booked with shows that I LOVE! I do not own a PVR so I guess the only other way to watch it is a) when my other shows are on hiatus or b) via the internet. I’m going to miss me some Howard ;(
I still say its a ploy for a salary bump. They should threaten to fire her, that’ll make he come runnin’ back to the set so fast…
Cynic, seriously. Get over yourself. Especially since she already has a new deal in place for four more seasons.
All the cast members just got a big “salary bump” so you can relax. Also, it would make it difficult for her to “come runnin’ back to the set” with a broken leg.
Hope she has a speedy recovery. She’s a major reason I watch the silly, though often funny show. The sexual tension there and the sarcasm between her and Sheldon is the best part of the show. Speedy recovery, Penny.
I don’t understand why they need to bump the show back? Unless they were setting the ground up for a big Penny story that would last multi episodes, just have the guys take a field trip or something! BBT is best when the boys are on the road (like when Sheldon went to live with his mother L. Metcalfe is the best as Sheldon’s fundy mother.” I think they should go visit Ms. Cooper and that way Penny is easily written out.
They have to bump the show because the next few episodes were already written and now have to be rewritten to remove Penny. Creating one filler episode to accommodate Penny’s absence would be much easier than rewriting or replacing a series of episodes that have already been slated.
I like Kaley and I hope she’s fine but I’m happy she’s missing a few episodes since I think Penny is really annoying.
It’s an easy solution. Just have her go visit her family for a couple weeks… then have her check in with the guys via video cam, like Raj’s parents do on occasion. She can still deliver a couple zingers… like having her virtually eat dinner with the guys..
There you go Adam. That sounds like a brilliant idea.
Why not write her leg injury into the show?
Exactly. IIRC they did just that over at 8 Simple Rules when she also injured her leg / knee / ankle / bigtoe. BTW will she still get that new ep salary for each ep she misses ???
one mark hey cant write her leg into the show she has to be off of it for awhile two kaley i love you girl and i hope you feel better and your leg get’s well!
I love Penny. I wouldn’t watch a show with just the guys.. So yeah, I really hope she comes back soon. :O
I don’t want BBT to trounce my other favorite show though.. Community (though its on NBC so its a given it won’t win)
Ha! Community is one of the worst sit-coms out there right now. Even worse than Outsourced