Ten years ago, the cast of "The Big Bang Theory" was introduced at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) panel for the very first time. Being in a new and unknown series -- and a comedy show at that -- it felt like the cast had no place in the geek fest.
"The Big Bang Theory" star Kaley Cuoco recently shared a throwback photo highlighting that SDCC event on her Instagram. "We had no idea what to expect or what 'The Big Bang Theory' would become," the actress said of her first Comic-Con experience. "We had an incredible experience," she added.
The actress then announced that she will be back at the Comic Con for the show's panel on Friday, July 21 at Hall H.
Fans and followers of her Instagram received the news with enthusiasm.
How much has changed in 10 years
One of Kaley Cuoco's followers said he was there on the very first Comic-Con panel for "The Big Bang Theory" when not a lot of people knew about the show. Since its debut on CBS, however, the show has become the highest-rated comedy series currently running on television. Because of its success, CBS renewed the show for season 11, which will premiere this coming fall, and season 12, which will premiere in fall 2018.
The show’s three main leads -- Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter) and Kaley Cuoco (Penny Hofstadter) -- now get a million per episode. The rest of the cast -- Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz) and Kunal Nayyar (Raj Koothrappali) – were also able to negotiate for a higher salary pay grade than most other TV actors.
While Cuoco was the lone female star on “The Big Bang Theory” in the first Comic Con, the show has since added two more women characters who are also science geeks like the guys. Melissa Rauch (Bernadette Rostenkowski) joined the show in 2009 and Mayim Bialik (Amy Farrah Fowler) followed a year later. These women would also later join Comic Con events for the show in 2012, 2015 and last year.
Warner Bros. confirms Comic-Con appearance
After Kaley Cuoco posted her photo, Warner Bros. announced the show’s Comic-Con panel will also include Galecki, Nayyar, Bialik and series semi-regular Kevin Susman (Stuart). Their panel will include a full-hour Q & A session as well as the unveiling of details from season 11 direct from the writers’ room. On the TV show, the characters on “The Big Bang Theory” were big on participating in the yearly event and there have been specific episodes about Comic-Con in the series.
