Everything 'The Big Bang Theory' Cast Has Said About Show Ending

JIM PARSONS

The star of the show, Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper, had a lot to say Thursday afternoon. The 45-year-old actor released a lengthy statement via an Instagram slideshow consisting of five slides' worth of text.

In his heartfelt message, he expressed heaps of gratitude for fans, his fellow cast members, the writers, and everyone who has ever worked on the show. Read his statement in full:

"It is hard (nearly impossible, actually) to really accept that this is a picture of the first of the final 24 episodes we will shoot for The Big Bang Theory. I feel very fortunate that we have another 23 episodes to shoot this season because I am hopeful that with each and every one, my level of REALLY accepting this fact will sink in," he began.

"Something else I feel grateful for — and this gratitude needs no time to 'sink in' or become more 'realized:' this grateful feeling is always with me but is multiplied in this moment of us announcing our final season — but I feel such intense gratitude for our devoted viewers who are the ACTUAL reason we have been graced with the opportunity to explore these characters for 12 years of our lives."

JIM PARSONS (Continued)

"I feel grateful to our crew — many, many of whom have been with us since day one — and who are the people who bring a sense of steadiness and dependability, who are so warm and kind and always quick to say hello and smile at us every time we come to the set and who, even though you don't see them on TV, are in many ways the real and steady heartbeat that keeps this body of work alive and breathing while we, like flailing arms and legs, act like jackasses and fools in attempt to make someone laugh," Parsons continued.

"I am grateful to all the writers of our show — those with us now and those that have come and gone — because, without them, there would literally be no Big Bang Theory at all, ever," he said.

"The writers thought of this show, the writers created these characters, the writers are the ones who found ways to keep coming up with organic, entertaining ways to keep the life of this show going which is a task much, much more challenging than anyone other than them will ever know or understand," he said.

JIM PARSONS (Continued)

Parsons continued: "And while I know that they already know it, it bears repeating again and again: I am so terribly grateful for the cast in this picture and the cast members who aren't pictured here — whether they were in one scene or many episodes along the way; you are all my playmakers that I have fallen in love with and who have become a part of my life on set and off."

He concluded, "You are my playmates when we don't feel like playing but have to because it's our job to get out there and communicate and pretend we're these other fictional people and we look into each other's eyes and say these words and end up creating this weird, other reality that has enriched my life more than I will fully ever understand. I will miss all of you and all of this more than I can say and more than I can know at this time."

KALEY CUOCO

Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny, wrote in the Instagram caption of a cast photo that her experience on the show was a "dream come true."

"This ride has been a dream come true and as life changing as it gets. No matter when it was going to end , my heart would have always been broken in two. Drowning in tears, we promise to bring you the best season yet. To the fans, our crew, families, Chuck Lorre, Warner Brothers , CBS, and everyone who has supported us for so many years, thank you. We are goin out with a bang ?" she wrote.

MAYIM BIALIK

Mayim Baialik, who played Amy Farrah Fowler, was another one of the first cast members to speak out after the news was announced. Bialik shared her thoughts on her website, Grok Nation, calling the ending "very sad."

"This is hard," she wrote. "I love coming to work and pretending to be Amy. She's a riot. She's me, and I am her. And soon she will not be mine to create."

"Am I happy? Of course not," Bialik continued. "This has been my job since Melissa Rauch and I joined the cast as regulars in season 4. I love my job. I love my castmates, and I feel such appreciation for our incredible crew, our brave writers, our entire staff, and our amazing fans. So many people are a part of our Big Bang family."

MAYIM BIALIK (Continued)

Bialik continued, explaining that while being a mom is her "most critically important job," her "paying job" is ending and she feels grateful to be a part of the show.

"Being an actor is profoundly humbling, incredibly gratifying, and terribly complex," she wrote. "Being an employed actor on what is the #1 comedy in America is unbelievable. And the fact that so many people consider us a part of their lives and families is powerful. I don't take any of it for granted."

She added that while "it's going to be very hard to not cry every day for the next 23 episodes," she and her cast mates "love bringing joy to our viewers and we will continue to do that to the best of our collective ability."

KUNAL NAYYAR

Kunal Nayyar, who plays Raj Koothrappali, said that even despite the reported reason that Parsons is the reason the show is shutting down production, the cast still remains close.

"We're family, we've spent a lot of time together, we were there when we found out together and we're there to support each other, and that's all there is to it really," Nayyar told Entertainment Tonight. "That's why we've survived for this long — because we love each other and we're a family."

He said saying goodbye to his character, as well as the rest of the cast and crew, would be "bittersweet."

"I'm sad to be saying goodbye to my family... I'm still trying to process all of it," he added.