If you're a big fan of The Big Bang Theory,
perhaps you can answer this simple question
for us: What exactly is Penny's last name?
Well?
We imagine you're totally stumped right now.
That's because unlike the other main characters
Penny doesn't actually have a last name…
At least, not a last name that we ever heard
on the show.
Sure, she became Penny Hofstadterafter she
married Leonard … but her maiden name still
remains a big mystery, even after the season
finale aired in May 2019.
Many of us waited and waited, but we never
got the big reveal.
And it's entirely likely that we never will.
This omission evidently wasn't an oversight
at least, not through the entire run of the
show.
As it turns out, the creative minds behind
the show made an executive decision to leave
Penny's surname an unsolved mystery, evidently
unaware that this is exactly the kind of thing
that keeps us awake at night.
Chuck Lorre, the co-creator of The Big Bang
Theory, once hinted that Penny's last name
might be Barrington.
But if that's true, it was certainly never
mentioned on the program or anywhere else,
for that matter so he may have been trolling
his fans.
As executive producer Steven Molaro explained
during a March 2019 WonderCon panel,
"[Eventually] we got nervous and superstitious
about giving her [a last name].
It will always be [her married name] Hofstadter."
He said something similar to Vulture in 2013:
"What name could we possibly pick that would
be satisfying at this point?
You know, I don’t think we will [reveal
it].
We’re kind of a superstitious lot here.
We’ve made it this far without knowing Penny’s
last name.
I think we’re good not finding out."
"Mmm, interesting."
"Isn't it?"
"No, I mean, what you find enjoyable."
"HAHAHAHAAHA!"
And the plot thickens.
In 2017, actress Kaley Cuoco revealed that
she didn't even want to know Penny's last
name, telling CBS:
"It's kind of a personal thing.
It feels like a jinx.
We haven't said it for so long.
I feel like if we said it, the world will
explode."
Cuoco tauntingly goes on to reveal that she
has some idea about what Penny's maiden name
is, but don't get too excited because she
never spills the beans.
Instead, she clamps down and outright refuses
to share her top-secret intel with us.
Does she also think Penny's last name is Barrington?
Why the veil of secrecy?
Does Penny have a last name that's simply
too embarrassing to say out loud?
For the love of God, what is Penny's last
name?
It's really anyone's guess at this point.
And it sounds like Cuoco is all about keeping
this burning pop-culture mystery alive.
In fact, at the wrap party for the series
finale in May 2019, she even admitted:
"I kind of love it.
So many things are revealed in the last few
episodes; you get a lot of satisfying moments.
But I kind of love that [we'll never know
her last name]."
Could this glaring omission have something
to do with how Penny was conceived in the
first place?
As Newsweek reports, she was written into
the pilot at the very last minute an attempt
to replace a character named Katie, who was
originally intended to be the girl living
across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard.
Well, test audiences evidently really hated
this Katie, and they thought her personality
was way too brash for the show whatever that
even means in the context of The Big Bang
Theory.
"Allow me to explain it to you in your language.
Nerdish."
To address these concerns, the writers started
from scratch and eventually created Penny
as a replacement for Katie.
Cuoco had originally auditioned for the part,
and she was subsequently called back to audition
for Penny.
Spoiler alert: She totally landed the role.
Since Penny was added into the show so late
in the game, perhaps the writers and creators
totally forgot to give her a last name.
Hey, it happens.
And throughout the run of the series, perhaps
they simply never found the right opportunity
or right gag to make the big reveal something
memorable.
Much like the enduring popularity of The Big
Bang Theory, this is one mystery we may never
get to the bottom of.
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