The Big Bang Theory is one of the most common US sitcoms to date, with 12 seasons 279 episodes, and a whole load of laughter. Known for its quirky characters, unique sense of humor, and the ability to suddenly shock viewers by not becoming too predictable, it's a classic show that will likely remain at the forefront of fans' minds for many years to come.
However, where the majority of shows will cover all bases, particularly where the characters' names are concerned, from day one, The Big Bang Theory producers decided not to do this. Fans of the show may have noticed that the character of Penny didn't have a last name on the show, and there's a very good reason for it.
Why Doesn't Penny Have A Last Name On The Big Bang Theory?
Penny has been a main character on The Big Bang Theory since the very first episode all the way back in 2007 and typically in most TV shows, at the very least, the very basics of the main characters tend to be established within the first few episodes. This includes names, except Penny seems to be missing hers.
Even though we know her as 'Penny' and once she marries Leonard in later seasons she changes her last name to Penny Hofstadter, during the first few seasons, it is completely unknown to the audience what Penny's last name is, among many other unknown things about the character.
This is a little confusing as all the other characters' full names are revealed pretty early on and given how particular Sheldon is, fans would only assume that he would have demanded to know what Penny's last name was. However, the reason why this was never revealed was actually for a rather superstitious reason.
As with many shows, The Big Bang Theory went through quite a few changes before it even made it to air.
One of these changes was with Penny's character as she was initially meant to be named 'Katie' and was played by a different actress, but the producers soon realized that this character was completely different from what they wanted this character to behave like.
As the change from 'Katie' to 'Penny' was quite last minute and Kaley Cuoco who played Penny was also given the role last minute, it would seem that many aspects of the character were overlooked by the show's producers, including her having a last name.
This, naturally, caused quite a lot of questions from fans of the show as they knew the other characters' last names and there were many questions named about why they couldn't know Penny's last name.
Even now the show has ended, there are still many questions surrounding this as most people had hoped to know the answer by the show's finale; but clearly, producers still want to create a buzz around the show and not give in to fans' requests of finding out the answer.
It has recently been revealed by one of the executive producers of the show that the team didn't want to give Penny a last name because they felt far too nervous and superstitious about giving her one.
Given that the last name wasn't revealed from the beginning, the producers felt that if they did end up revealing it, something bad would happen; but in what way they thought this bad thing would happen is completely unknown.
Was Penny's Last Name Ever Revealed On The Big Bang Theory?
Despite the fact that the show never officially revealed what Penny's last name is, there have been a few suggestions over the years about what that name might be, although none of these has been officially confirmed.
As many will know, The Big Bang Theory was created by Chuck Lorre, and he has previously suggested that Penny's maiden name is Barrington. Some may see this as an official answer, however, this was never officially confirmed and was more than likely Lorre's was of drumming some interest surrounding the show.
Another theory on what Penny's last name could possibly be was recently revealed on Reddit. A fan had noticed in the season two episode 'The Work Song Nanocluster', that there is a package intended for Penny and on the shipping label it has the name 'Penny Teller' on it.
However, just like with Lorre supposedly revealing her last name, this also wasn't confirmed. Plus, it sounds too close to the famous magic act 'Penn and Teller' for it to actually be real, and was more than likely a quick idea that the producers came up with to keep up the mystery surrounding what Penny's actual name is.
This was confirmed by prop master on the show, Scott London, who said he was told by series co-creator Bill Prady to put the name 'Teller' as Penny's last name and that the original plan was for the label to not be shown on the show, but unfortunately for them, eagle-eyed viewers spotted this for the split-second it was on-screen.
It even got to the point that when Penny and Leonard were getting married, the editors purposefully edited around Penny ever revealing what her last name was, even though that would be typical in any wedding, and was also featured when Howard and Bernadette got married.
So even though fans got their hopes up that the secret had been revealed, it turns out that everyone is still none the wiser when it comes to what Penny's last name could possibly be.
Will Penny's Last Name Ever Be Revealed?
Given that the show ended way back in 2019, it is highly unlikely that the cast, producers, or anyone else who worked on the show will ever reveal what Penny's last name is. Even Cuoco has stated that she doesn't have much interest in finding out what her character's last name is, so it's unlikely fans of the show will ever find out.
Even if anyone from the show does decide to give fans a definite answer of what it could be, hopefully, it won't cause the world to explode as Cuoco has previously stated, in a joking matter, she thought it might if the answer is ever revealed.
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