'The Big Bang Theory' Star Mayim Bialik Dishes on 'Emotional' Last Season of Series

With The Big Bang Theory ending next April, sitcom star Mayim Bialik said it will be "hard to imagine life" after the long-running series ends.

"It's emotional," Bialik told Closer Weekly Saturday of the upcoming series finale. She is trying to "capture every moment" of the finale.

"Every week kind of feels like, 'This is the last time we'll be doing this kind of script.' It's been such a long run, and so it's kind of hard to imagine life after this," the former Blossom star said.

The Emmy nominee, 43, said she hopes the cast she has worked with for the past eight years stays in touch.

"I can't imagine that we wouldn't," Bialik said. "I actually had a dream that we all went hiking together, and I was telling everybody, 'Why didn't we do this before?'"

As for which members of the cast she is closest to, Bialik said she has become good friends with Melissa Rauch and Jim Parsons. She has also known Johnny Galecki since they were 14, so she is sure they will continue to be friends. "I'm Simon [Helberg's] biggest fan, so I think it creeps him out that he's the person I want to stay in touch with the most," she joked.

"It's different than a family or friendship. It's fun to get scripts and see how we'll work together to create comedy," she explained.

Bialik joined The Big Bang Theory in 2010, playing Dr. Amy Farrah Flowler, who became Sheldon Cooper's wife at the end of season 11. The role earned Bialik an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series every year from 2012 to 2015.

Back in August, CBS and Warner Bros. TV announced that The Big Bang Theory would end with its current 12th season, making it the longest-running sitcom in TV history. After the news broke, Bialik wrote on her website Grok Nation that the news was "hard" to take.

"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," Bialik wrote. "Am I happy? Of course not. 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."

The Big Bang Theory's final season returns on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS with "The Paintball Scattering." In the episode, Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Leonard (Galecki) set up a paintball game that goes wrong when Sheldon (Parsons) gets jealous of Amy.

Photo credit: Michael Yarish/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc/CBS