Johnny Galecki Had A Weird Idea For A The Big Bang Theory Spin-Off

"The Big Bang Theory" not only ran for an impressive 12 seasons, but it seems like the sitcom is spawning a pretty impressive franchise. The prequel spin-off "Young Sheldon" ended after seven seasons and could easily have run longer if it wasn't for the fact that its story reached a natural conclusion when Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage, with "The Big Bang Theory" actor Jim Parsons reprising his role as the adult version of the character) left his childhood home for Caltech. The most recent member of "The Big Bang Theory" family is the "Young Sheldon" spin-off "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage," which focuses on Sheldon's older brother Georgie Cooper (Montana Jordan) and his wife, Mandy McAllister (Emily Osment). 

Had Johnny Galecki (who plays Leonard Hofstadter in the mothership show) given in to one of his more peculiar ideas and decided to push it to CBS and "The Big Bang Theory" mastermind Chuck Lorre, there might actually be more than three shows in the franchise. As Galecki described his peculiar spin-off vision to Entertainment Weekly in 2019, the idea involved taking the "Young Sheldon" single-camera approach and applying it to "The Big Bang Theory" characters in a non-prequel fashion:

"I've had weird dreams about a single-camera version of 'Big Bang'. What do you do? Whose character? These characters are so a part of each other's lives! Even a spin-off with two, you'd be like, what happened to the other five?"

Galecki offered his single-camera vision while jokingly spitballing potential spin-offs with the rest of the cast. Still, it actually hits surprisingly close to home, thanks to "Young Sheldon." 

As the prequel series has proved, the switch from multi-cam to single-cam can significantly change a show's atmosphere. Combine that with "Young Sheldon" not having a laugh track, and the sentimental and surprisingly dark show has a tone that's very different from "The Big Bang Theory." In fact, at the end of the day, the spin-off is a better Chuck Lorre show than the original. 

Because of this, Galecki's idea might seem strange on the surface, but given the success of "Young Sheldon," a single-camera spin-off about a particular "The Big Bang Theory" character might very well be able to replicate the Sheldon Cooper prequel's more intimate and serious atmosphere. Sure, it might be jarring at first given the loud, chaotic energy fans have come to expect from the show's central gang, but who knows? The franchise has successfully experimented with both single and multi-camera approach, and given its track record, it would frankly be surprising if there weren't any plans for additional spin-offs. Perhaps Galecki's weird idea will one day be one of them — and maybe the tonal change will show one of the classic "The Big Bang Theory" characters in a completely new light that elevates them to a whole new level.