The Big Bang Theory season 8


The eighth season of the American television sitcom The Big Bang Theory aired on CBS from September 22, 2014 to May 7, 2015.
The series returned to its regular Thursday night time slot on October 30, 2014 after Thursday Night Football on CBS ended.
Mayim Bialik submitted the episode "The [Big Bang Theory season 8#ep167|The Prom Equivalency]" for consideration due to her nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for [Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series] at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards. Christine Baranski submitted the episode "The Maternal Combustion" for consideration due to her nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 67th Primetime [Creative Arts Emmy Awards].
Carol Ann Susi, the voice of the never-seen Mrs. Wolowitz, died of cancer at age 62 on November 11, 2014. In the season's fifteenth episode, "The [Comic Book Store Regeneration]", Howard Wolowitz receives a phone call that his mother died while visiting family in Florida.

Production

In March 2014, the series was renewed for an eighth, ninth and tenth season through the 2016–17 television season.
In February 2014, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves announced that the first six episodes of the eighth season would air on a different night due to CBS acquiring the rights to Thursday Night Football games. In May 2014, CBS announced at its annual upfront presentation, that the series would begin its eighth season on Mondays, before returning to the Thursday slot once the football games end.

Delay

Production for the season was expected to begin on July 30, 2014, however the start was delayed due to the five main cast members' desire to renegotiate new contracts, with Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco seeking approximately $1 million per episode, as well as more backend money. Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar negotiated together, separate from Galecki, Parsons and Cuoco's negotiations. Production was officially delayed on July 30, due to the contract negotiations, and was rescheduled for August 6, 2014. On August 4, Galecki, Parsons and Cuoco signed new contracts, worth $1 million per episode for three years, with the possibility to extend for a fourth year. The deals also include larger pieces of the show, signing bonuses, production deals and advances towards the back-end. The following day, Helberg and Nayyar renegotiated their contracts, giving them a per-episode pay in the "mid six-figure range", up from around $100,000 per episode they each received in years prior. The first table read for the eighth season took place on August 6.

Cast

Main cast

Special guest cast

Recurring cast

Guest cast

Episodes



Reception

The season premiere "The Locomotion Interruption” and the second episode “The Junior Professor Solution” received mixed reviews. MaryAnn Sleasman of TV.com praised character developments, and wrote that "there's a lot to be excited about with regard to this coming season" with some of the central characters more comfortable around each other.
Emily Gould of Salon criticized the humor, writing that "I watched all seven episodes that had aired so far this season and didn't so much as expel air forcefully from my nose in response to any of the jokes". Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club also criticized the humor of the aforementioned episodes, writing that "A lot of the jokes are tired and the plotlines are standard sitcom material, but if it's worked for seven seasons, why switch it up now?"