In a recent interview, The Big Bang Theory‘s executive producer Steve Molaro recently spoke about the major moments of season 6, and took a look ahead at season 7.
Molaro first touched on a major character change which took place in The Big Bang Theory‘s season 6 finale – Raj’s newfound ability to speak to women while sober. The breakthrough, Molaro told Vulture, was “something [the writers have] been thinking about for a while… it’s a moment of growth for him.”
But Molaro isn’t worried that freeing Raj’s tongue may make the character less funny. “[Raj] does not have a lot of experience speaking to women while sober,” he said, a fact made clear in the tag scene of “The Bon Voyage Reaction.” “My guess is he’s not going to be great at it, at least not in the beginning.”
When asked about the perpetually quirky couple of Sheldon and Amy, Molaro expressed pride in how the deceptively complicated relationship had developed over the season. “It was beautiful,” he admitted, quoting fellow writer Tara Hernandez who called a pivotal “Shamy” scene “so intimate, it’s hard to watch.”
Molaro stayed mum about what may be ahead for Sheldon and Amy, though. “There are no steps [forward] planned at the moment,” he said. “We do our best to let the characters take us where they want to go.” And the future of Raj and Lucy (Kate Micucci) – who broke up in the season finale – is similarly up in the air. “We’ll see what happens,” Molaro said. “It’s a definite possibility that Raj will try and find [Lucy] in the future.”
Other relationships may be changing as well, in the wake of Leonard’s four-month expedition to the North Sea. “I think it’s fair to say that the key figure in… Penny and Sheldon’s [lives] is missing,” Molaro said carefully. “It will have an impact on their friendship and their relationship. I think it’s an opportunity for them to get closer.” (Let’s hope this means more renditions of “Soft Kitty!”)
Finally, Molaro touched on The Big Bang Theory‘s recent luck in casting celebrity guest-stars. This year, TV legend Bob Newhart appeared on the show in “The Proton Resurgence,” joining the ranks of Stephen Hawking and Leonard Nemoy. Molaro admitted that “at this point it’s greedy to even think this can keep going,” but that it was hard not to consider big-name actors like William Shatner for potential roles. Still, celebrity casting is always in service of the existing characters. “Rarely does it begin with, ‘Oh, so and so wants to do the show. How do we work them in?'” Molaro said. “It always starts with a story.”