Jessica Radloff’s The Big Bang Theory is subtitled “The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series”, and it’s everything that fans of the TV show would want. Everyone on the cast cooperated with Radloff’s book. The creators, producers, and writers of the show shared memories. And Kaley Cuoco even shared the pictures she took over the years.

Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, co-creators and executive producers of The Big Bang Theory talk about the creation of the show, the characters, the casting, even the wardrobes. Radloff spent two years working on the book, watching all 280 episodes, corresponding with the cast for ten months, sometimes talking via Zoom or in person. She’s able to tell the story of the television show, the characters, and the people behind the characters. She rolls out the book season by season, talking about individual episodes, and the development of storylines about the characters.

If you followed the show, or still watch it in syndication, the characters may have grown to mean something to you: Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard, Raj, Bernadette, Amy Farrah Fowler. Radloff interviewed the actresses who played mothers to Sheldon and Leonard, Christine Baranski and Laurie Metcalf. Although it was an ensemble comedy that revolved around the five friends, the primary characters, with the later addition of Bernadette and Amy, the show about a group of nerds/scientists, and their friends also featured guest stars who were essential to the show. There were storylines with Leonard Nimoy, Stephen Hawking, Bob Newhart, James Earl Jones, Carrie Fisher, and Wil Wheaton.

Radloff covers so much in this story of twelve years of the show, along with the run-up to the show. Without going into details, the important storylines about Leonard and Penny, Sheldon and Penny’s friendship, Howard and Bernadette, Sheldon and Amy, are all covered as carefully in this book as they were covered in the episodes over the years. By giving the producers, showrunners and writers the chance to discuss the show, she’s able to cover the careful development of each character, and how the characters were handled with love over the course of the series.

Handled with love. Fans of the TV show will recognize that Jessica Radloff handles all the history of this beloved comedy with love. The stories she writes just allows fans to appreciate the show even more. The Big Bang Theory truly is an inside story.

The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series by Jessica Radloff. Grand Central Publishing, 2022. ISBN 9781538708491 (hardcover), 528p.


FTC Full Disclosure – Library book