“The Big Bang Theory” Normalized Nerd Culture

In 2014, when Jim Parsons won a fourth Emmy for his role as the physicist Dr. Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang Theory,” he turned to his boyfriend and seemed to mouth, “Oh, my God.” And both actors had been on the top sitcoms of the nineties—LeBlanc on “Friends” and Louis-Dreyfus on “Seinfeld”—which were multi-camera shows with live audiences, just like “The Big Bang Theory.” The younger members of the “Big Bang Theory” writing staff then stirred in elements of their own lives, pulled details from news stories and YouTube channels, consulted actual scientists, and even mined fan fiction about their show.

Source: www.newyorker.com