'The Big Bang Theory' Star on Show Ending: "It Feels Like We've Chewed All the Meat Off This Bone"

The Big Bang Theory has become one of the most successful sitcoms in history, with the series coming to a close at the end of its current 12th season. Star Jim Parsons' interest in exploring new opportunities is the major impetus behind the show's conclusion, having recently revealed that he felt the show had exhausted its potential.

"It's both as complex and as simple as just feeling innately that it was time. It speaks to a lot of things, none of them bad," Parsons shared with Entertainment Weekly. "There is no negative reason to stop doing Big Bang. It felt like we have been able to do this for so many years now, it doesn't feel like there is anything left on the table. Not that we couldn't keep doing it, but it feels like we've chewed all the meat off this bone."

He added, "I guess at a personal level, it feels like the right time in my life. I don't know what's next for me. It's not like there is something specific I am aiming for. I'm firmly in my middle age now. I don't know how much longer I can wear [the T-shirts] without looking really long in the tooth. In a way, it's exciting. What is this next chapter of life? What is this next chapter for all of us? It will be very, very sad when it does end, even knowing [I am] okay with it. People are okay when they graduate but there are frequently tears at graduation. It's hard to say goodbye to people that you have worked with for so long."

While numerous shows have survived after the exit of major cast members, the minds behind the series had made it clear for quite some time that, were any of the core cast members to leave the series behind, the series wouldn't continue.

Moving on from the series will surely present the cast with numerous new opportunities, but there will still be things about the show they miss.

"Seeing everybody," Parsons told The Jakarta Post when asked what he would miss the most. "And as we get to the end – we have 17 more to do – I will be very sorry not to see everybody. I'll particularly miss Simon Helberg; we spend a lot of time together, we go back and forth to our dressing rooms, we've talked for almost 12 years now. Six months down the road after we finished, I will be like, I haven't talked to Simon in a deep way in a long time. And that will be hard."

Stay tuned for details on the future of The Big Bang Theory's final season.

Do you wish the series had stuck around longer? Let us know in the comments below!