How The Big Bang Theory Pulled Off Sheldon Cooper's Big Move

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Anyone who's even a little bit familiar with Sheldon Cooper, the main character of "The Big Bang Theory," played for 12 years and seasons by Jim Parsons, knows that he is very particular. (A less flattering term for the guy would probably be "absolute fussbudget.") That's why, in the show's 10th season, some fans might have been a little taken aback when Sheldon leaves the apartment he's always shared with his best friend Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) to live with his girlfriend Amy Farrah Fowler, played by Mayim Bialik (Amy and Sheldon go on to get engaged at the start of season 11 and marry in that season's finale). In doing so, Sheldon frees up the apartment for Leonard and his wife Penny Hofstadter (Kaley Cuoco) to finally share an abode without Sheldon.

According to Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," even Parsons himself was a bit taken aback by this choice, because Sheldon is not a guy who welcomes change. "We all had feelings about it. We were like, 'How is Sheldon moving?! This makes no sense.' And they made it work ... but I mostly had to ignore my own feelings, which was, This is out of whack!" He continued, "At the very least, I couldn't believe it wasn't a two-part very special episode where he ties himself to the kitchen island and won't leave! But that wasn't what they wanted to do." Looking back, Parsons says he's "still not at peace with it," but that he chose not to think about it when they shot it. "This is about making bold, decisive choices that some people are going to be unhappy with."

Parsons also made sure to note that, in the end, he liked the fact that Sheldon and Amy resettled in Penny's former apartment, right across the hall from his old one. "And I wasn't unhappy with the result," Parsons continued. "I loved living over there, actually! I thought Penny's apartment was cute. I was sick of our apartment. But the pathway there, I was like, 'Oh, we're just going to do it and get it over with and move on.' I hope that doesn't sound at all judgmental." He clarified that, "It's the opposite, if anything. They had so many f***ing things to juggle, and sometimes you just gotta move things along."

According to the show's co-creator and longtime showrunner Chuck Lorre, moving Sheldon over to Penny's apartment with Amy made the show fresh in one of its later seasons. "It was one of those things that just breathed life into the series," Lorre said. "It generated so many wonderful stories, because dating someone and living with someone are entirely different things. And certainly neither Sheldon or Amy or Leonard had any skill or experience at cohabitation." Lorre explained that while Penny had been around, it was a brand new experience for the rest of the characters, and it allowed the show the space to show them all learn how to be in relationships.

Ultimately, the way it all went down is that in the fourth episode of season 10, "The Cohabitation Experimentation," Amy's apartment floods and leaves her stranded for five weeks; in the name of "science," she proposes that she and Sheldon try living together, and the shake-up happens when they move into Penny's place (and Penny lives full-time with her husband). Still, as executive producer and writer Steve Molaro said, they had to consider some important things ... like Sheldon's precious spot on his and Leonard's couch, where he has to sit (and if anyone else sits there, they're immediately told to move lest they drive Sheldon crazy). 

"Sheldon's spot was always going to be his," Molaro clarified. "It didn't matter if he lived there or not. It was important that it always felt like 'The Big Bang Theory,' and one of the most important things is that the couch is in that living room and that couch is Sheldon's spot. I didn't want that to ever change."

So why did the team behind "The Big Bang Theory" move Sheldon out of his apartment at all? Couldn't Penny and Leonard have just moved instead? As Radloff put it, that was definitely an idea ... but it actually would have worked against the narrative. "It would have been the logical thing to do, but it would have made storytelling even harder," Radloff conveyed.

Steve Molaro also weighed in, saying that ultimately he needed Sheldon to be the one going between apartments, and he didn't realistically think that Leonard and Penny would go to Sheldon's door all that often. Conversely, Sheldon — who, to put it lightly, is very needy — would probably be beating down Penny and Leonard's door constantly. "Because in general it was easier to get Sheldon to go see them," Molaro explained. "We wanted home base to still be the set we were using the most, so the amount of times Leonard or Penny would go knock on Sheldon's door were less than Sheldon coming over to them needing someone."

Still, as executive producer and writer Steve Holland said, there were some weird little things they had to consider ... like Sheldon's patented three-knock system, which he uses every time he knocks on anyone's door. "And as writers, we discussed what the rules would be for Sheldon going forward," Holland said. "Does he have to do his knock, knock, knock when he comes back into his apartment? But maybe if we leave the door cracked to his old apartment, he doesn't have to knock!"

Ultimately, this change allowed two major "Big Bang Theory" couples to grow together, and it all worked out for the best. "The Big Bang Theory" is streaming on Max now.