The Big Bang Theory's Live Audience Had A Bad Habit Of Laughing Way Too Early
As one of the longest-running sitcoms in television history, "The Big Bang Theory" is known to produce a couple of hearty and authentic laughs during each episode. The talented cast of lovable nerds and pop-culture enthusiasts entertain the audience through lively and relatable stories as well as a fair share of outlandish circumstances. At home, viewers chuckle with their families and friends in response while the live audience roars with laughter and applause. Sometimes they would even anticipate the joke and react too early leading director Mark Cendrowski to take matters into his own hands.
Cendrowski, who directed a whopping 244 episodes of "The Big Bang Theory," noted that the overeager audience didn't really become a hindrance until the later seasons when the show was reaching peak popularity. In an interview with Forbes, the director compared it to instances in other shows he worked on where the jokes didn't land as well with the audiences, "In fact, on 'The Big Bang Theory,' we more often had the opposite problem, especially in the last couple of years, once the show was so ingrained in the culture, you had audience numbers that would almost be too enthusiastic."
This buzzy sensation had active members of the audience often anticipating the jokes earlier than they were delivered and consequently laughing ahead of the punchline. Cendrowski would sometimes even have to take control of the situation to ensure the joke could be heard in the final cut of the episode.
Director Mark Cendrowski said the eager audience sometimes led to him calling cut
Even though the laugh track on "The Big Bang Theory" can sometimes feel repetitive, it would be even weirder than you think without it. The distinguishing factor helps make the show feel more alive while bridging the gap between funny moments. It also includes the passionate fanbase who are thrilled to react to the character's stories and see the stars of the show perform live.
Cendrowski reflected on this engaging factor which sometimes slowed down the filming process, "They were so excited to be there, so energized and so excited to see these actors, that they were laughing at setups and then you couldn't hear what the actual joke was. Sometimes we'd have to cut and ask the audience to slow down a little bit and wait for the jokes." Understandably, the star-studded quality of the cast might leave anyone giddy enough to jump the gun and prematurely laugh at something said by the witty talents.
This is one of the many unique challenges that filming a multi-cam sitcom with a live studio audience can present, especially one as renowned as "The Big Bang Theory." However, those real-time reactions frequently benefit the show in irreplaceable ways that only a single camera format show could omit, which also explains why "Young Sheldon" doesn't have a laugh track.