George R.R. Martin Is A Big Fan Of This Popular Yet Divisive Chuck Lorre Sitcom

Author George R.R. Martin, who penned the series of novels titled "A Song of Ice and Fire" — which served as the source material for, of course, HBO's series "Game of Thrones" — has a favorite Chuck Lorre sitcom. So, does it surprise you to learn that the writer and producer really, really loves "The Big Bang Theory?" (Honestly, it did surprise me.)

In a 2018 question-and-answer feature with The New York Times, where various staffers got to ask him questions, Martin named several books and TV shows he was enjoying at that time, including "Better Call Saul," the "Breaking Bad" spin-off that was direct competition against "Game of Thrones" at the Emmys during this timeframe. Along with HBO classics like "The Sopranos," "Rome," and "The Deuce," Martin specifically mentioned Lorre's sitcom about nerds. "I love all of those, love some comedies. 'Big Bang Theory,' I think, is my favorite current comedy," he said.

To Martin's credit, he was pretty consistent about this. Back in 2012, author, screenwriter, and podcaster Mark Stay wrote a blog post about how he initially didn't like "The Big Bang Theory" one bit, only for Martin to basically convince him to watch it. "As you might imagine, Mr. Martin revealed himself to be an intelligent man of great taste ... and he just loved "Big Bang Theory,'" Stay wrote. "How could this be? Two smart people whom I like and respect both fans of a show that leaves me cold. Is it me? Do I have some kind of comedy gene missing?" (The second person was a colleague.) Stay then watched it and changed his tune, deciding he liked it after all.

Martin's love for "The Big Bang Theory," incidentally, is mutual — "Game of Thrones" came up multiple times on the long-running series.

It probably won't be that surprising, if you have even a passing familiarity with "The Big Bang Theory," that this show about dorks and nerds actually name-drops "Game of Thrones" multiple times throughout its 12-season run. In fact, in the show's ninth season, an entire episode centers around a "Game of Thrones" watch party that goes pretty predictably awry.

In that episode, "The Viewing Party Combustion," Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) arranges for a giant party-sized sandwich to be delivered to the apartment he shares with his uptight best friend Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), only for Sheldon to grow worried about Leonard throwing a "Game of Thrones" watch party. As Sheldon frets further about whether or not Leonard's wife, Penny Hofstadter (Kaley Cuoco), even knows what's going on in the "Game of Thrones" world, but to say the watch party ends in disaster is an understatement. Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) absolutely refuses to shut up about the fact that he's dating two women, irking anyone in his orbit, and poor Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) unwittingly ingests nuts and ends up having a severe allergic reaction. (Also, Kevin Sussman's Stuart Bloom shows up dressed as Kit Harington's Jon Snow and is the only one in costume.) 

A fantasy series like "Game of Thrones" is the kind of property that was always going to be referenced on "The Big Bang Theory," so again, the crossover between the two feels incredibly natural. (Hilariously, this episode even makes sure to take a jab at George R.R. Martin and the fact that he'll probably never finish "The Winds of Winter.") It's made weirdly nicer, though, by Martin's affection for the show ... something he shares with millions of people around the world.

Even though "The Big Bang Theory" ended in 2019 after 12 years and the same number of seasons, it's still one of the most popular sitcoms in the history of television. (In fact, the show's stars think they know why "The Big Bang Theory" has endured for so long.) Even if people weren't still streaming the crap out of this show on HBO Max, you'd probably be able to tell that it's still popular because, sort of like "Game of Thrones," it keeps spawning spin-offs.

While the HBO drama begat two prequels — "House of the Dragon," which centers on the Targaryen civil war known as the "Dance of the Dragons," and "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," a funnier and more irreverent entry into the Westerosi canon — "The Big Bang Theory" was busy developing a cinematic universe of its own. Obviously, there's "Young Sheldon," which casts Iain Armitage as a younger (duh) version of Jim Parsons' central character and which ran from 2017 to 2024 as it chronicled Sheldon Cooper's childhood in Texas. From that, we got "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage," which focuses on the aforementioned young Sheldon's older brother George Jr. (Montana Jordan) and his wife Mandy McAllister (Emily Osment); this series started airing on CBS in 2024 and is, as of this writing, still going strong.

Then there's the spin-off "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe," which will star Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom and bring back a number of supporting players. This is all to say that the "Big Bang Theory" universe isn't slowing down, so George R.R. Martin must be happy. You can stream "The Big Bang Theory" on HBO Max now.