Why The Big Bang Theory Scripts Didn’t Leave The Cast Members Any Room For Improv

If there’s one thing fans love to look for in sitcoms, it’s unscripted moments. Scroll to the comments section of an “It’s Always Sunny” YouTube video, and you’re sure to see someone point out how Rob McElhenney is totally trying not to break in that one shot, or how that one actor’s line was actually made up on the spot, so the other characters’ confused reactions were genuine. 

There’s no such fun in “The Big Bang Theory,” which runs on a format that leaves actors with very little room to mess around. “‘Big Bang’ is very tightly scripted. Because we shoot in front of a live audience, it’s basically like doing a filmed piece of theatre, really,” said Melissa Rauch (who plays Bernadette) in a 2016 interview. “I love it so much, but you don’t want to mess with what they write because it’s almost like this beautiful concerto that you don’t want to mess up one note of.”

It’s a respectable approach, similar to how “Friends,” “Cheers,” and most traditional sitcoms do things. As much as fans might love the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” strategy of encouraging the actors to just sort of riff off each other and see what sort of comedic gold comes out of it, that sort of approach is mostly only possible because there’s no studio audience laughing at every joke and slowing things down. The over-improvisational style can lead to unpredictable episode runtimes; it’s fine on HBO, but not so much on network TV, where there’s a strict 30-minute time slot and expected commercial breaks.

Despite the “Big Bang Theory” actors’ strict adherence to the script, there are still a few small moments scattered throughout the series where things don’t go according to plan, and we get to see the actors (and audience) react to these delightful curveballs. There’s a brief moment in season 4 where Sheldon (Jim Parsons) throws up a bunch of papers in the air in frustration, only for one of the papers to land on his shoulder and sit against his head for the rest of his lines. This was of course not scripted, but it helped to underline Sheldon’s anger even more; he’s so pissed at Leonard that he doesn’t even seem to notice the paper. 

This might not sound too exciting, but this show adheres so tightly to the script that this is still one of the most notable surprises for the actors. There are some other minor improv moments — guest star Wil Wheaton once surprised people by showing up to a scene in a Spock uniform, for instance, and Stuart (Kevin Sussman) improvises a quiet “I love you” line to Penny in season 3 – but audiences rarely get the impression on this show that the actors are doing anything spur-of-the-moment. For that sort of experience, shows like “Curb,” “New Girl,” Reno 911!” and “30 Rock” are definitely worth checking out instead.

There’s also something admirable about the professionalism of a show sticking to the script and always staying in character. At a time where the “SNL” cast now breaks in nearly every other sketch, the appeal of performers cracking up at their own jokes is starting to wear a bit thin. It runs the risk of feeling a little too smug, like the performers think they’re so special that they don’t even need to try. Critics can say what they will about “The Big Bang Theory,” but the fact that every actor stays in character throughout the entire show is impressive, something of which plenty of other comedy series should probably take note.