Table of Contents
List of Contributors vii
Foreword Chuck Lorre ix
Introduction: How the Reunion Came to Be xi
1 Where It All Started 1
2 Casting Leonard, Sheldon … and Katie 12
3 The Pilot-Take Two 30
4 Laying the Foundation … Literally 44
Time for a Hot Beverage … Stairway to 4A 59
5 Growing Pains and a Miracle Disguised as a Writers' Strike 62
6 The Comic-Con Initiation 84
7 Anything But a Sophomore Slump 98
Time for a Hot Beverage … Atom Breaks 121
8 Note Cards, a Special Cologne, and an Eidetic Memory 122
Time for a Hot Beverage … Hoodies, Orthopedic Shoes, and Alien Pins: The Secrets of the Costume Design 133
9 The Universe Expands 143
10 The Love Story of Leonard & Penny and Johnny & Kaley 164
11 With Great Risk Comes Even Greater Reward 186
12 Jim Parsons and the Role That Changed Everything 207
13 The Syndication Explosion 231
14 The Sensational Season Six 252
15 Behind the Scenes of Stage 25 276
16 The Emmys, a Scavenger Hunt, and the Storyline Kaley Cuoco Hated 304
17 The Toughest Year Yet 322
Time for a Hot Beverage … Lunch Break 343
18 "The Opening Night Excitation" 349
19 Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and the Very Real Truths About Parenthood 363
20 The Pay Cuts, a Set Shake-Up, and the Proposal That Brought the House Down 380
21 Luke Skywalker Comes to Pasadena 394
Time for a Hot Beverage … Secrets of the Whiteboards 412
22 Back to the Past: Bringing Young Sheldon to Life 413
23 The Lorre Legacy 430
24 The Decision to End the Show 439
25 The Final Goodbye 457
Epilogue 481
Acknowledgments 485
Index 497