Kaley Cuoco thought she was meeting with her ‘Big Bang Theory’ costars to discuss a 13th season – instead she found out the show was ending

• Kaley Cuoco recalled being shocked that “The Big Bang Theory” was coming to an end.
• The actress told Variety she thought they were going to discuss season 13.
• But instead Jim Parsons broke the news that he didn’t want to be in the show anymore.
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“The Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco recently recounted the exact moment she found out that her hit CBS comedy series was going to end with its 12th season.

Cuoco detailed in a new interview with Variety’s Kate Aurthur how she was “summoned” to cocreator Chuck Lorre’s office along with her costar Johnny Galecki in 2018, right when season 12 had started production. The two actors thought they were heading into a meeting about doing a 13th season of the show.

But their costar Jim Parsons was in the room, too, and he told them: “I don’t think I can continue on.”

“And I was so shocked that I was literally like, ‘Continue on with what?'” Cuoco recalled. “Like, I didn’t even know what he was talking about. I looked at Chuck: ‘Wow. I thought we were – I’m so blown away right now.'”

Despite Cuoco and Galecki’s desire to continue on with the popular show, “The Big Bang Theory” cast and creators had all agreed that they wouldn’t do additional seasons without Parsons. 

"That was the one thing we all agreed on - we came in together, we go out together," Cuoco told Variety, adding that she was "in a state of shock."

Parsons had previously told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019 that there was no single "factor" in his decision to leave the show.

"It was just…when you know, you know," he said. "And you're susceptible and thrown around by the whims of your own existence and getting to a certain age and your life changes and suddenly you just think different."

It's not the first time Cuoco, who's now starring in HBO's thriller-comedy series "The Flight Attendant," opened up about her emotional reaction to the series' ending news.

"I went through like kind of some weird, a lot of ups and downs - almost like someone had died, in a weird way," Cuoco said on "The Talk" in September 2018. "I was just devastated, I couldn't stop crying for days, and then I was really angry."

"The Big Bang Theory," which averaged over 18 million viewers every week on CBS, ended in May 2019. It rivaled the most popular shows of that era, including "Game of Thrones." It also still holds the record for longest-running multicamera series of all time.