Why The Big Bang Theory Changed One Major Aspect Of Sheldon Cooper During The Series

At the start of "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon Cooper, the series protagonist played by Jim Parsons, is obviously and flatly averse to physical intimacy or relationships, remaining single while his friends Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) happily chase girls. In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," showrunner and creator Chuck Lorre revealed that he always intended for Sheldon to be asexual, but throughout the series' 12 years and seasons, that plan ended up shifting. (To clarify, The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization that serves as a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth, defines "asexual" as people who "may experience little or no sexual attraction and/or experience sexual attraction in a non-normative way.")

"Sheldon's passion was learning; understanding the secrets of the universe," Lorre explained. "That made him unlike any character I certainly had ever seen. He wasn't trying to find himself in a relationship; he was in a relationship, and it was with science." From there, though, Lorre clarified something specific: "I had, for several years, championed the idea that Sheldon was asexual. He had no interest, which I thought made him remarkable." (Bill Prady, his co-creator, agreed, saying, "Chuck and I were of the same mind, absolutely.")

Okay, so what about Sheldon's relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler, Mayim Bialik's character who joins the show at the end of season 3 and takes forever to progress? As executive producer and writer Maria Ferrari told Radloff, it helped challenge the series' writers and how they approached Sheldon and his sexuality. "If the show was still in production, I feel like there would be more talk about Sheldon's sexuality — if he was asexual or just had a very low libido," Ferrari noted. 

"I always thought that was an interesting topic — if a person with a really low libido and someone with a really high libido make a relationship work," she continued. "That's something we talked about a lot once he and Amy had a deeper relationship. It was always a really tough balancing act, because you wanted both characters to be happy."

I should be upfront and say that, over the years, "The Big Bang Theory" was careful not to confirm that Sheldon Cooper might be on the autism spectrum ... and according to writer, producer, and eventual showrunner Steve Holland, that was intentional. "Even though Chuck said he perceived Sheldon as asexual, the show never identified him as asexual," Holland commented. "That was just our sort of thinking. He's just Sheldon and he's somewhat spectrum-y, although we were careful never to identify him as that, either. I completely understand that people were frustrated when he wasn't referred to as being identified on the spectrum, but Sheldon was never meant to be a spokesman for a group of people, which is why we also tried to keep labels off of him."

Still, it's easy to see that Chuck Lorre's intentions were clear, and as he told Jessica Radloff, he wanted Sheldon to stand out in a landscape of TV characters whose lives centered around romantic love. "Early on you'd get these ridiculous notes, such as 'Wouldn't it be nice if...' or 'When is Sheldon going to get a girl?' I would get those notes early on from well-meaning CBS executives who were wondering why we weren't doing what had been done elsewhere," Lorre recalled, citing attempted studio interference.

"But Sheldon just didn't care," he continued. "He was not attracted to anybody. He was attracted to science. There was kind of a sense that we had our own lane; that no one else was doing this. It's a biological imperative to couple up; it's how we're wired. But there are those amongst us who opt out. And they had not been on television. I had certainly never seen it."

For Chuck Lorre, the TV landscape needed a character like Sheldon Cooper to shake things up, and frankly, he's right about that! "Television was always Get the girl, Get the guy, I'm lonely, I need someone, Sex is going to make me feel better, I want to be in love, et cetera, et cetera," Lorre opined. "But Sheldon was complete without a relationship. And that broke ground a little bit, along with the fact that he could articulate those wishes. He was not unconsciously avoiding contact with people. He looked at it, he analyzed it, and said, 'I want no part of this.' Science was his mistress." (As Jim Parsons quipped in Jessica Radloff's book, "I as easily accepted his asexuality as I eventually did his odd sexuality once Amy was on.")

Introducing Amy Farrah Fowler as Sheldon's love interest created a brand new dynamic for the show and also introduced a new challenge for Sheldon: He very clearly cares about Amy, and even before the two are physically intimate, he grows visibly angry at the idea that Leonard might do so (after Leonard attends a wedding as Amy's date). At Amy's urging, Sheldon eventually agrees to take their physical relationship slowly, which is also a refreshing choice to see depicted. The two end up getting married in season 11 and, in the "Big Bang Theory" series finale, they even win a Nobel Prize together for their work in super-asymmetry ... which really cements Sheldon's relationship with both of his true loves (Amy and science).

"And obviously, we did eventually enter Sheldon into a relationship, but we did it very slowly, and in a way that made us feel like we hadn't done a 90-degree turn at all," Lorre concluded, and again, he's right. The relationship between Amy and Sheldon ends up feeling totally natural. Don't believe me? Stream "The Big Bang Theory" on Max right now and see for yourself.