The Big Bang Theory’s Original Penny Was Very Different (& Worse)

The Big Bang Theory originally had a very different version of Penny – but fortunately the showrunners decided to make some changes. Kaley Cuoco played the only main female character in the series in its first three years, acting alongside Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Johnny Galecki (Leonard), Simon Helberg (Howard), and Kunal Nayyar (Raj). It wasn’t until season 4 before the show brought in Melissa Rauch’s Bernadette and Mayim Bialik’s Amy, which not only expanded The Big Bang Theory’s cast, but also increased the female representation in the sitcom.

As the main female lead of the show, Penny appears early in The Big Bang Theory‘s premiere episode back in 2007. As Sheldon and Leonard come home, they notice that have a neighbor moving in to Apartment 4B. Leonard is smitten right away, causing him to casually invite her to their apartment despite staunch objections from his roommate. From then on, Penny became a constant figure in Apartment 4A – especially after she met Howard and Raj.

Prior to The Big Bang Theory‘s official premiere, its unaired pilot had a significantly different cast of characters aside from Leonard and Sheldon. Penny and the other two boys weren’t written, and in their place were two other female characters. Gilda, played by Iris Bahr, is reminiscent of Sara Gilbert’s Leslie, and Katie, portrayed by Amanda Walsh, is arguably the original incarnation of what would be Cuoco’s character. She’s street-smart, confident, sexy, and has no enthusiasm whatsoever for the boys’ intelligence or interests, which were some of the notable characteristics of Penny in the series. Creators Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre decided on scrapping Walsh’s part after her character got a negative response from the audience during test screenings.

While Katie and Penny are similar, the viewers thought that the former was too harsh on the boys. And since the nerdy combo of Leonard and Sheldon quickly endeared themselves to the public, fans were immediately overprotective of them. Because of this, having someone who came across as mean-spirited as Katie interacting with them just didn’t work.

The great thing about Penny and how Cuoco played the part is that, despite her usual nonchalance towards the boys’ academic and nerdy interests, she wasn’t mean to them. Yes, there’s some ribbing on her part, but when it comes down to it she’s a dependable friend to all of them. No matter how much Sheldon annoyed her or Howard annoyingly flirted with her, she offered her help when they needed it. Though Katie only appeared in one episode and she could have changed over the course of The Big Bang Theory had she stayed, it was a bit off-putting seeing how she treated the two male key players in the series.

It’s difficult to tell if The Big Bang Theory would have become the big hit that it was if CBS moved forward with the show’s original pilot. However, looking back on its 12 years on the air, it’s difficult to imagine any other character filling the role that Penny did as the audience surrogate for the show. Admittedly, though The Big Bang Theory had some problematic treatment of her character especially in the very early years of the sitcom, no one can deny that Cuoco had great chemistry with Parsons and Galecki, as well as the rest of the cast.

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