The cast of the The Big Bang Theory will be back on the small screen on Sept. 22 with 24 episodes in line for this season. After a bit of delay in the production, the cast and crew finally started filming in mid-August.
The announcement came officially as CBS posted on its website on Aug. 8, "Season 8 of the The Big Bang Theory is officially underway! The stars have taken to social media releasing snapshots and tweets from being back in production that are bound to make you excited for its return."
The one-hour premiere episode of the eighth season is entitled "Locomotion Interruption". Mayin Bialik, who plays Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, posted on Instagram on Aug. 13, saying "Wrapping episode 1 of season 8!"
The Hollywood Reporter covered the Television Critics Association's summer press tour, where the long-running TV show's executive producer Chuck Lorre said, "Penny has an interesting arc this year where she puts acting down. She gets a shot to be a pharmaceutical rep at Bernadette's company."
Further, he explained, "She's going to start making some money, which will unbalance their relationship as the power shifts. She's going to find some confidence and self-esteem, which acting does not provide in great heaping doses."
It is said that the delay in production was due to negations about the cast members' contracts. According to online magazine Deadline, the contracts of the original cast in the show expired the previous season, and they were negotiating for a more satisfactory deal.
Jim Parsons (Dr. Sheldon Cooper), Johnny Galecki (Dr. Leonard Hofstadter), and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting (Penny) finally agreed to sign for another three years, for a hefty sum of $1 million per episode plus additional perks. Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz) and Kunal Nayyar (Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali) also finalized their contracts, according to Variety.
There is no confirmation on the actual amount or other perks that the cast members and the production company agreed on, but it can be surmised that both parties are happy with the deal.
The series is expected to complete a total of 10 seasons, until 2016-2017.
