Leslie Winkle was an important part of The Big Bang Theory‘s earlier success, so it was disappointing when she just disappeared from the show. Having been a main character throughout Roseanne‘s incredible original run, Sara Gilbert’s comedic chops were well-established by the time she joined Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady’s sitcom. Leslie was one of Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj’s coworkers at Caltech. She debuted in The Big Bang Theory season 1, episode 3, “The Fuzzy Boots Corollary,” setting her up for what could have been a long and storied tenure in the series. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Despite her interesting dynamic with the boys, Leslie mostly spent her time in The Big Bang Theory, as they collaborated at work and eventually became romantically involved. The show also established her as a fantastic scientist, leading to a brief but incredibly funny rivalry with Sheldon. Gilbert was even promoted to a series regular in its sophomore year. Unfortunately, as The Big Bang Theory evolved and the writers saw which areas of the comedy to focus on, Leslie slowly faded into the background. She last appeared in The Big Bang Theory season 9, during Sheldon’s surprise birthday party.
The Big Bang Theory Wrote Out Leslie After Leonard & Penny’s Partnership Took Off
In terms of narrative, The Big Bang Theory never really addressed what happened to Leslie. Given how prominent she was at Caltech, it’s difficult to imagine the boys not even discussing it if she left the institution. That said, the decision to gradually phase out Leslie in The Big Bang Theory was rooted in what was happening in the show overall. While the writers originally wanted to explore if Leslie and Leonard would work as a couple, after all, Gilbert and Johnny Galecki already had fantastic chemistry as seen in Roseanne. That said, they eventually changed directions when Penny’s role in the series was fully solidified.
For what it’s worth, Lorre, Prady, and their team weren’t looking for a permanent love interest for Leonard, as the plan was always to do a push-and-pull kind of relationship with Penny. This made sense, considering how effective the will-they/won’t-they romantic dynamic has been on TV shows with more episodes like The Big Bang Theory. However, because of how intense the reception to Leonard and Penny’s partnership was, the creatives behind the series ended up building on that instead of continuing to explore what he had with Leslie.
To be fair, The Big Bang Theory tried to do other things with Leslie. After her split with Leonard, she started a fling with Howard. The pair’s very different personalities but common professional path made for a unique dynamic. However, The Big Bang Theory eventually dropped that, as well. Eventually, Melissa Rauch became a series regular in season 3, who ultimately ended up with the Pasadena gang’s resident engineer and astronaut.
Leslie Could Have Stayed On The Big Bang Theory Despite Leonard & Penny’s Partnership
While removing Leslie from The Big Bang Theory made sense for Leonard’s narrative, it didn’t mean that the series didn’t have other options to keep the character. Her romantic relationships didn’t go anywhere, but she was interesting enough for other non-romantic plots. For starters, her rivalry with Sheldon was one of the funniest recurring gags of The Big Bang Theory‘s earliest years. When Leslie disappeared, Barry Kripke filled that void. Not that John Ross Bowie wasn’t good in the role, because he was fantastic in it, but the CBS comedy could have achieved the same thing and maybe even made it more interesting if Leslie had stayed.
Another way that The Big Bang Theory could have utilized Leslie had nothing to do with her ties with the Pasadena gang boys. When she was introduced, Kaley Cuoco’s Penny was the only prominent female character in the show, but because she wasn’t a scientist, there wasn’t really a female perspective from what was still a male-dominated professional space. Leslie was the perfect character for this role because The Big Bang Theory already established her as part of that circle with the boys. Granted that the arrival of Amy and Melissa eventually addressed this, it could have been done so earlier with Gilbert’s character.
In any case, Gilbert eventually found her comedy comeback show with the Roseanne revival, which became The Conners. The top-rated ABC series ran for five successful seasons until it wrapped up in 2025 — six years after The Big Bang Theory ended in 2019.
The Big Bang Theory is available to stream on HBO Max.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Ufotable -
Image Courtesy of Toei Animation
