Did Chuck Lorre add fiery scenes between Leonard and Penny to mess with the actors? ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Kaley Cuoco once shared an amusing thought about ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and her on-screen romance with Leonard (Johnny Galecki). She often wondered following her real-life breakup with Galecki, if the writers had increased the number of intimate scenes between their characters on purpose.
On the show itself, Penny and Leonard’s ‘will they, won’t they’ dynamic was a central plotline, and after several seasons, they finally became a couple. When it came to off-screen the actors’ own romance mirrored that storyline, but their relationship didn’t last as they remained friends and continued working together after the breakup.
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Kaley Cuoco on Her Suspicion
During a 2020 interview on ‘The Armchair Expert’ podcast, Cuoco reflected on her two-year romance with Galecki and the eventual breakup. She mentioned that shortly after, the show seemed to give their characters a lot more romantic screen time.
“When we broke up, obviously it was a little sensitive for a minute, but I remember those weeks that Chuck had written these episodes where all of a sudden our characters were like sleeping together every other second,” she said. “Johnny and I talk about it and I think he did that on purpose — just to f**k with us. If I was with him, I would ask him, because that came out of nowhere. All of a sudden these characters were all up on each other.”
Chuck Lorre Denied the Accusations
However, Lorre quickly put that theory to rest in ‘The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story’ book. He denied any such intention, emphasizing that the show’s focus was solely on creating great content.
“No. Not at all. Making a good show has no room for f**king with anybody,” “There’s no, ‘Let’s mess with Kaley and Johnny’. The goal was to make a great show and make every minute of every episode count. And that was the only goal,” he said. “We don’t have that kind of freedom to risk a TV series that you put your heart and soul into to mess with somebody’s head. No.”
He added, “I think that’s charming that they think we had the mental capacity to mess with them. [Laughs] Penny and Leonard having difficulty sustaining a relationship was one of the reasons to keep watching – to see if they could make it. You were rooting for them to find happiness.”
Galecki later reflected on the situation with a laugh, admitting it was a bit self-absorbed to think the increased intimacy was designed to play on their personal lives. “We were reading into things a little too much. I’m going to sleep a little easier tonight,” he said.
