Big Bang Theory Season 8 Release Date: Wedding in the Offing, Friends’ Star Lisa Kudrow Joins the Cast as Penny’s Mother

By Mike Emaneke Aug 12, 2014 03:36 PM EDT

Big Bang Theory Season 8 Release Date: Wedding in the Offing, Friends' Star Lisa Kudrow Joins the Cast as Penny's Mother

When Big Bang Theory first came out as something 'from the makers of two and a half men' we expected it to be a hit. Big Bang Theory has far surpassed expectations and earned itself a well deserved cult following. Now with seven seasons behind cast , crew and fans alike have something to look forward to in season eight premiering on Monday September 22^nd 2014.

Production for the eighth season was scheduled to start in late July 2014 but was delayed by haggling. In action reminiscent of the 'Friends' negotiations of 1996 the five cast members engaged the production house in salary increment negotiations. Actors Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar were able to get their salaries pushed up to mid six figures while Jim Parsons, John Galecki and Kaley Cuoco were able to get CBS to give them 1 million dollars each for the next 72 episodes that is until the end of season ten, giving them each a cool 72 million dollars. These three clearly hit the jackpot because in addition to these monies they got larger ownership pieces, signing bonuses and production deals.

There is a lot of speculation as to what to expect next season with season seven ending on such a high note. A proposal seven years in the making finally came through when Leonard got down on bended knee, so to speak, and asked Penny to marry him. Will season 8 bring with it a wedding? We hope so as well as other goodies. 'Friends' star Lisa Kudrow is expected to be joining the cast of The Big Bang Theory as Penny's mother. This is apparently causing excitement on set as she is definitely an acting legend from a legendary show and we shall all be looking out for a little bit of 'Phoebe' in her acting. There is also speak of Penny finally dropping her acting ambitions (no doubt tired of all the teasing from Sheldon) and taking up a sales job at Bernadette's company. With all these events and definitely (hopefully) more in store for season eight, September feels a little bit too far away.