Kaley Cuoco Was Disappointed by Penny’s Ending in ‘The Big Bang Theory’

When it comes to ending popular, long-running TV shows, it’s impossible for showrunners to please all of their fans. With the masses calling for a reshoot after finally seeing who took the crown in the final episode of Game of Thrones and public outcry over the controversial How I Met Your Mother ending that undid years of character development, the last moments can clearly make or break a series. CBS’s hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory unfortunately fell short of expectations for one of its beloved characters.

After 12 seasons of nerdy hijinks, endearing social-awkwardness, and endless laughs, the comedy wrapped up with its series finale, “The Stockholm Syndrome,” in 2019. The episode culminates with Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy’s (Mayim Bialik) Nobel Prize win in Physics, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Howard (Simon Helberg) getting away from the kids for the first time, Raj’s (Kunal Nayyar) break-up with Anu (Rati Gupta), as well as Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) trying to keep a pregnancy secret. Although it was a generally well-received ending, some fans and cast members weren’t entirely happy, including star Kaley Cuoco, who is disappointed in Penny’s maternal fate.

Kaley Cuoco Hates That Penny Ends Up PregnantThroughout the entire series, Penny was adamant that she didn’t want kids. Considering Leonard wanted to eventually become a father, even commenting in the pilot that the will-they-or-won’t-they couple’s children would be both “smart and beautiful,” it’s unsurprising that the two break-up multiple times during the show’s run. With conflicting life goals and Penny’s hesitancy to settle down, their desired paths seemed too incompatible for a romantic relationship to last.Regardless, showrunners decided to leave audiences with an unexpectedly pregnant Penny (it’s Leonard’s baby, of course). During an interview with Jessica Radloff for the 2022 book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, Cuoco admitted that she wasn’t thrilled about it because it took away much-needed representation for intentionally child-free women, “It was cute how the writers did it at the end with Penny’s surprise pregnancy, and all in all I’m glad, but I was actually voting for her not to. I loved that she was like, ‘No, I don’t really want them'”.Not only was the plot twist a writing choice that didn’t fit the character and reinforced archaic ideas about all women wanting to be mothers (even if they say they don’t), but it also didn’t make sense with where Penny was at in her career. Cuoco went on to say that “Penny became this career-woman, and she was really growing in her job and she loved going out with her friends and she admitted that. She didn’t want her life to change”. From a wannabe actress to becoming a superstar saleswoman at the pharmaceutical firm ZenGen, it’s hard to believe that all her professional progression throughout the seasons still led her to a baby-filled fate she didn’t want. And where did all of Penny’s fears and hesitation about settling down suddenly go?