The Big Bang Theory was a huge success, so it is no wonder that other TV channels are looking for similar stories. Or they just copy them, as in the case of the series The Theorists.
Since the launch of The Big Bang Theory in 2007, the series developed into a major success for CBS. A total of 279 episodes were released over 12 seasons, even though the start looked anything but promising.
In Belarus, the success of the American colleagues was likely observed very closely, and just two years later, in 2009, a thematically similar series called The Theorists was created.
Looking at the series, one quickly notices suspicious parallels. It tells the story of a group of nerds named Sheldon, Leo, Hovard, Raj, and Natasha. The nerds live in a shared apartment, and next door there is a blonde neighbor who of course makes quite an impression.
That this was probably not a coincidence was also noted by those responsible at Warner Bros. Television, the production company.
A Harsh Judgment from the Series Creator
What was the reaction? Warner approached Chuck Lorre directly, one of the two creators of The Big Bang Theory. It turned out, however, that The Theorists was not produced by an independent production company in Belarus, but the responsible studio was directly operated by the local government.
According to Lorre, it was “practically impossible” to file a lawsuit for copyright infringement. Instead, he decided to publicly shame the creators of The Theorists, namely where everyone could see it best: in his own series.
And so Chuck Lorre added a caption in Season 3 of The Big Bang Theory, pointing out the copycat. He left nothing out and ironically commented on the “latest hit” from Belarus, which tells the story of “four nerdy scientists”.
Every episode begins with a fast-paced montage that takes us from the beginning of time to the present. Appropriately, this montage is accompanied by arguably the worst pop music piece recorded since the beginning of time. And finally, each episode seems to be a Russian translation of an episode of “The Big Bang Theory”.
Chuck Lorre
How did the story end? There were no legal consequences, but the Belarusian production studio The Theorists was already canceled after four episodes. On IMDb, a meager 17 users gave it a rating of 1.0, and those who want to convince themselves of the quality of the series can catch up on YouTube.
Regardless of this incident, The Big Bang Theory continued for another 10 years after 2009 and thus ended only in 2019. Have you ever heard of The Theorists? Feel free to write it in the comments. Chuck Lorre also had a say in another matter: The Big Bang Theory: One of the most important actors was fired without cause – But the creator brought him back
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