'Big Bang Theory' has season high as end nears

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As the time approaches to say goodbye to Sheldon, Amy, Leonard, Penny and the gang, the CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory" hit a season-high in popularity last week.

The 14.2 million viewers who tuned in to Thursday's episode will surely be topped since television's most popular comedy calls it quits after 12 seasons this spring.

Not everyone gets to go out on top, and the cast and crew of "The Big Bang Theory" gathered last week for a celebratory ceremony. The Burbank, California, studio on the Warner Bros. lot where the show is filmed was dedicated to the comedy. While there for a champagne toast, creator Chuck Lorre credited the crew for never "mailing it in" during 12 years.

The affection underlying all of the characters' relationships, even if they aren't very good at expressing it, is something that viewers can sense, Lorre said.

"They're not blood relatives but they behave like a family," he said. "That's aspirational. That's what we all want."

The Lorre-created spinoff, "Young Sheldon," was the second most-watched comedy of last week, also with a season-high in viewers, the Nielsen company said. So that bodes well for the character popularized by Jim Parsons to continue long after Parsons has stopped portraying him.

And the message in a fortune cookie given to set visitors last week was another reminder that the characters will never really go away. "If you don't believe in goodbyes, there's always syndication," it said.

Source(s): AP