It is honest to say that on the Chuck Lorre sitcom “The Massive Bang Concept,” the feminine characters do not at all times get a good shake. At first, the solely lady in the primary forged is Penny, performed by Kaley Cuoco, and she or he does not even get a final title till she marries Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) in season 9 (fortunately, within the present’s third season, she’s joined by Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch as Amy Farrah Fowler and Melissa Rostenkowski, respectively). Nonetheless, even after the character of Penny was absolutely reworked for a second try at a pilot — she was initially performed by Amanda Walsh and named Katie — the present’s artistic group nonetheless thinks the pilot did Penny soiled.
In Jessica Radloff’s 2022 guide “The Massive Bang Concept: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Collection,” each Lorre and his fellow showrunner (and government producer) Steve Molaro mentioned they do not really feel nice about how they depict Penny early within the collection. “She was the ditzy blonde lady within the pilot, which is without doubt one of the issues that isn’t nice about that pilot,” Molaro mentioned of Cuoco’s character. “It took a very long time for her to develop into an individual. There’s an unlucky joke about how she’s a vegetarian however she loves steak. I did not write the pilot, however these are moments the place you would like you would undo just a little little bit of. Otherwise you want you had just a little bit clearer image of the place we ended up going. However that is how pilots work. It is powerful.”
Lorre agreed however did say that they ultimately discovered Penny’s power: her social smarts. “One of the vital underwritten characters within the present early on was Penny,” Lorre recalled. “It was actually apparent instantly that we hadn’t developed the character past the gorgeous lady subsequent door, and Kaley was actually able to doing a fantastic deal greater than what was requested of her.” He continued, “We needed to make the character extra absolutely realized. Not only for an episode, however at all times. [Over time] Penny had an intelligence about folks, about relationships, and about sussing out a state of affairs and understanding the dynamics of what is going on on in a room.”
As soon as the writing improved, Penny grew to become the right complement to the present’s essential characters
All through “The Massive Bang Concept” — even in a few of its earliest episodes — Penny’s character falls into place fairly simply, significantly due to how she interacts with Leonard and his … troublesome roommate, the good however temperamental theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). Although Sheldon appears down on Penny — and Leonard instantly develops a crush on her — Penny appears amused by the boys, however most significantly, she’s not imply to them with out trigger, as Kaley Cuoco informed Jessica Radloff within the guide.
“There’s zero judgment from the minute she meets them,” Cuoco mentioned. “What was attention-grabbing was they have been judging her. I felt like they have been judging her for a very long time, and I really cherished that. She simply needed to hang around with them. She instantly included them. But it surely took them longer to incorporate her.”
Not solely did this assist develop Penny’s character, but it surely softened Sheldon and Leonard and made them extra accessible as characters. As a form of viewers surrogate, Penny helps viewers determine what makes Sheldon and Leonard tick as she learns extra in regards to the duo … and truthfully, Penny’s eventual shut friendship with Sheldon is definitely extra narratively satisfying than her marriage to Leonard. “Penny discovered the blokes hysterical and cute, however she did not make enjoyable of them,” former Warner Bros. government Peter Roth mentioned of Penny. “She thought they have been endearing, however by no means to the purpose of you feeling like she was secretly mocking them behind their backs. That is why one of the vital good relationships was Penny and Sheldon. That was very particular.”
Kaley Cuoco virtually did not play Penny due to her age — and since she mentioned no
The reality is that Kaley Cuoco virtually handed on the position of Penny after it was reworked within the wake of that first, unaired pilot — and in Jessica Radloff’s guide, casting administrators Ken Miller and Nikki Valko say they have been mainly determined to get Cuoco on board. Sadly, as Miller put it, Cuoco most well-liked the darker, edgier model of Penny (or Katie, as she was named at that time) and mentioned no. “We begged and we pleaded and we groveled,” Valko mentioned. “I imply, I used to be groveling. Ken, too.”
Miller, who additionally famous that his group had recognized Cuoco for years, did admit that Katie, the unique position, was just a little too “previous” for Cuoco, however that Penny was excellent: In hindsight, the position of Katie was an [age] inappropriate position for her within the first pilot. However we actually believed that she was the one for the second go-around. It was apparent it was her.” Fortunately, the celebs aligned and Cuoco mentioned sure after Valko and Miller urged her to rethink, and the remaining is historical past. “My group simply needed to ensure I would not be caught in something that wasn’t an thrilling position because it appeared like a secondary character at first, however Nikki and Ken stored saying, ‘No, no, it’ll develop! The blokes and this new lady are actually going to blow one another’s worlds up,'” Cuoco mentioned within the guide. “And I knew when Chuck [Lorre]’s title is subsequent to one thing, you actually do not query it.”
The reminiscence is understandably fairly humorous for Cuoco, and as for Valko and Miller, she made certain they at all times knew simply how grateful she was that they pushed to forged her. “I chuckle excited about it now,” Cuoco continued. “After which, at each desk learn on Wednesdays, we at all times sat in the identical place, and Ken and Nikki at all times sat behind me. And I’d at all times yell out, ‘Thanks for hiring me!'”
Penny adjustments so much all through The Massive Bang Concept — for the higher
The actual fact is that, throughout the whole thing of “The Massive Bang Concept,” Penny does develop fairly a bit — and I’d argue that she really has essentially the most drastic and necessary evolution of any of the present’s essential characters. Despite the fact that Sheldon ultimately lets his guard down and will get married to Amy and Howard provides up his dream of being a creepy womanizer to calm down with Bernadette and have two children, Penny, amidst her relationship with Leonard, makes huge private strides. After years of attempting to develop into an actress and putting out, Penny decides that she desires to discover a profitable profession and begins working with Bernadette at ZenGen, a fictional pharmaceutical firm. Because it seems, Penny is a superb saleswoman, and by the top of the present, it is totally doable that she’s the breadwinner in her life with Leonard.
Let’s return to her friendship with Sheldon for a second, which is the place I feel Penny actually shines. Within the season 9 episode “The Celebration Experimentation,” Sheldon freaks out when Amy throws him a shock social gathering, and in a second of disaster, Penny is the one one who can really assist. Whereas Sheldon hides within the toilet, Penny comforts him and tells him that she’s blissful to remain within the room with him for so long as he wants — and it seems that her help is all Sheldon really wants. Penny’s progress is most evident in her friendship with Sheldon, and it is protected to say that, after the pilot, the present gave her a fairly nice arc.
“The Massive Bang Concept” is streaming on Max now.
