Here's Where You Can Visit The Big Bang Theory's Set In Real Life
Sometimes, sets for a television show become so iconic, they're practically a character on the show. Who could forget the famous Central Perk couch from "Friends" or the neon-colored restaurant The Max from "Saved By the Bell"? With sets being so recognizable and beloved, sometimes they're too valuable to simply be torn down.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, collector James Comisar spent 20 years trying to get his hands on the set from "Cheers" to add to his collection for his as-yet undeveloped Museum of Television before finally getting it with the help of "Cheers" co-creator James Burrows. The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum had to recreate the sets from "I Love Lucy," and they seem to have done so with a stunning level of detail. After "Will & Grace" ended its original run in 2006, the show's co-creator Max Mutchnick donated the set to his alma mater, Emerson College. It was displayed in the library of the school's Boston campus before being moved to the school's Los Angeles campus in 2014 to make room in the library, according to Emerson's campus newspaper, the Berkeley Beacon.
"The Big Bang Theory" set was another one of those iconic sets, with the infamous broken elevator, the four flights of stairs, and the apartment that Sheldon and Leonard shared early in the series. So where can you visit the set of this popular sitcom? Well, Sheldon might not appreciate us telling you because you might sit in his spot on the couch, but we'll tell you anyway.
It's on the Warner Bros. studio tour
According to The Wrap, shortly after "The Big Bang Theory" ended its 12-season run, the set was added to the Warner Bros. studio tour in Los Angeles. "To say goodbye to the show and to that stage was really difficult," executive producer Steve Holland told The Wrap. "It feels great to know that people care about it enough that they want to come visit, and also that it's there so we can stop by and visit it from time to time." You won't have to make the arduous climb up the stairs past that broken elevator to get to the set, though. Glamour did a tour of the set in 2015 and found that not only do the stairs go nowhere; there's only one flight of them that they reused to make it look like the characters were walking up multiple floors.
"The Big Bang Theory" isn't the only television show set you can visit on the tour. According to the preview video on the Warner Bros. studio tour website, the tour also includes the sets of such beloved shows as "Gilmore Girls" and "Friends."
That's not the only honor bestowed upon the famous set of "The Big Bang Theory." According to the previously mentioned article from The Wrap, after the show ended in 2019, the stage where they shot the show, Stage 25, was officially renamed "The Big Bang Theory Stage," making it one of only five stages at Warner Bros. to be named after the show that was shot there. The other four shows to receive this honor were "ER," "Friends," "Two and a Half Men," and "Ellen." So it would seem that the set of "The Big Bang Theory" is in very good company amongst these prestigious shows.