The Big Bang Theory (season 4)


The fourth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory, began airing on CBS on September 23, 2010. Season four started four months after the end of season 3.
Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik were upgraded to the main cast during the fourth season as Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, respectively. Johnny Galecki received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards for the episode, "The Benefactor Factor". Jim Parsons won the award for the episode "The Agreement Dissection".

Overview

Penny dates a couple of guys including the dense Zack who likes the "science dudes", Sheldon begins a platonic relationship with Amy, Howard reconnects with Bernadette eventually asking her to marry him, Leonard begins to date Raj's sister Priya, Penny becomes friends with Amy and expresses regret at breaking up with Leonard.

Production

During the season, actress Kaley Cuoco was absent from two episodes after she fell off a horse and the horse accidentally crushed her leg. When she returned to the series, she was shown working as a bartender instead of waitressing at her usual workplace, The Cheesecake Factory, to hide her injury. In January 2011, The Big Bang Theory was renewed for an additional three years; extending it through the 2013/14 season, for a fifth, sixth, and seventh season.

Cast

Main cast


Ratings

Reception

The fourth season received particular praise for character developments. Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx praised the additions of Bernadette and Amy to the cast, writing that "With Amy Farrah Fowler and Bernadette promoted to semi-permanent status, the show is now able to spend large chunks of each episode focusing only on the women, and in the process has made Penny a much more well-rounded character rather than just a foil for the nerds". Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club wrote that "Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco's interplay remains the show's secret weapon", and Eric Hochberger of TV Fanatic wrote: "Really though, everything about the main story worked amazing. Mayim fits in perfectly in The Big Bang Theory cast and played off of Kaley Cuoco just as well as Emmy Award-winning Parsons".