Why It’s So Cool To Hate The Big Bang Theory

Unraveling the mysteries of why everyone hates The Big Bang.

The big Bang Theory Sheldon
CBS

The Big Bang Theory has run for more seasons than Seinfeld, won more Primetime Emmy Awards than Friends, and will soon have produced more episodes than Frasier.

At its ratings peak, it was pulling in an astonishing 20m viewers per week in the United States alone, dwarfing fellow CBS hits like Two And A Half Men and How I Met Your Mother, and practically unheard of in the streaming age. Even its eleventh season averaged an insane 18m, while re-runs are shown every day around the world, it's rare you'd find somebody who hasn't at least seen one episode, and it's a merchandising behemoth.

So when it was announced last week that the upcoming 12th season was to be its last, you'd expect there to be an outcry of despair, or at the very least a tinge of sadness. But instead, there were mostly shouts of 'finally' and a sense of joy; not solely because it's been going for so long, but because so many people seem to hate the show.

It's a televisual contradiction, that the medium's biggest sitcom is also one of its most loathed, so, despite the viewers, why do so many people hate the series?

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.