'The Big Bang Theory' Finale Won't End With an Atomic Bomb Where You Never See Anyone Again

The Big Bang Theory is just a handful of episodes away from ending its 12 season run on CBS and as the series finale gets closer, fans are starting to wonder what they might expect for the show's big send off. However, while details are few there is one thing fans can be sure of: The Big Bang Theory isn't going to end with a literal bang.

At Deadline's The Contenders Emmys on Sunday, series director Mark Cedrowski explained that while the final episode still hasn't been written the show will end in a way where fans know that the characters go on beyond the show. There will be no "atomic bomb".

"I honestly don't know much," Cedrowski said. "The final episode has not been written completely yet; it's been outlined. I will say the one thing about how they've approached the whole season: When we learned that this was to be the last season ... writers have approached it, not so much as the show is wrapping up and we'll never see them again and the finality of it all.

"It's going to be the last episode and it's going to end, but people's lives still go on. The characters will be giving the idea that their lives continue on. It's not going to be an atomic bomb where things blow up and you never see anybody again."

That will likely come as a relief to fans who are bracing for the end. Last fall, just ahead of the show's twelfth season premiere, it was announced that the season would be the series last. Since then, the series' stars have been outspoken about the emotions that come with saying goodbye to characters they've played for so many years as well as what they'd like to see as it all ends. For Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny, one of the things she wanted addressed before the series' end was Penny's last name. Unfortunately, it seems that she won't be getting that wish. Executive producer Steve Molaro recently told The Hollywood Reporter that Penny's maiden name will remain a mystery.

"[Eventually] we got nervous and superstitious about giving her one," Molaro said. "[I]t will always be Hofstadter."

And as for things ending in a way that reassures fans that life goes on for the characters, that may also be comforting for fans when it comes to the possibility of another spinoff. While the series already has one spinoff, Young Sheldon, CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl said back in February that the network is open to more spinoff series, provided The Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre is interested.

"Nothing formal," Kahl said about another spinoff at the time. "The ball is squarely in their court. If they want to talk to us about it, we are here to listen."

The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on CBS. The series finale is set for May 16.