The Big Bang Theory: 10 Problems It Faces Moving Forward

10. The Financial Juxtaposition

You know a show is a monster hit when… well, when the ratings show that, we suppose. But another pretty big indicator is when the stars start earning ridiculous amounts of money. And The Big Bang Theory ticks that box pretty handily with the original five cast members now earning $900,000 an episode, and Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik being rumoured to have closed new deals for up to $500,000 an episode.

Taking other costs into account, the per episode budget for The Big Bang Theory is nearly on par with the first season of Game Of Thrones. But hey, that’s American TV. The budgets are as high as the actors. Or maybe that was just Two And A Half Men. But throwing that kind of money around may not be the best course of action

Much like Friends before it, The Big Bang Theory has reached a point where it’s basically too big to fail. But at the same time, the second half of Season 10 saw a noticeable ratings slip, with gaps of up to five million between the best and worst performing episodes.

This could just be a blip but if the viewing figures start to fall consistently, the show has a problem. The actors’ contracts are locked in for two years. Viewing figures, advertising revenue, and overall budget aren’t. Which could mean that the show will have to trim the fat elsewhere to compensate.