The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons has expressed "intense gratitude" for the show's fans, its crew and his castmates on the heels of news that the upcoming 12th season will be the last for the top-rated CBS comedy series.
Parsons posted an Instagram photo on Thursday of himself and the show's core cast members - Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch - as they began work on Wednesday on the last of the Warner Bros. Television show's 24 episodes.
"It is hard (nearly impossible, actually) to really accept that this is a picture of the first of the final 24 episodes we will shoot for The Big Bang Theory," wrote Parsons, who has won four Emmy Awards for his role.
Parsons' desire to end his run on the show after this season was a big factor in the decision by CBS and Warner Bros. TV to call it a wrap next spring.
"I feel such intense gratitude for our devoted viewers who are the ACTUAL reason we have been graced with the opportunity to explore these characters for 12 years of our lives," Parsons wrote.
"[The crew] are in many ways the real steady heartbeat that keeps this body of work alive and breathing while we, like flailing arms and legs, act like jackasses and fools in attempt to make someone laugh.
"The writers are the ones coming up with organic, entertaining ways to keep the life of this show going which is a task much, much more challenging than anyone other than them will ever know or understand."
The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper.
Parsons also thanked all the actors who have appeared on the show, for being "my playmates that I have fallen in love with and who have become part of my life on set and off."
"We look into each other's eyes and say these words and end up creating this weird, other reality that has enriched my life more than I will fully ever understand," he wrote.
"I will miss all of you and all of this more than I can say and more than I can know at this time."
Parsons has been branching out beyond Big Bang in recent years with movie roles, most recently in the indie A Kid Like Jake opposite Claire Danes, and Broadway productions including The Boys in the Band, An Act of God, Harvey, and The Normal Heart.
He also co-starred in HBO's 2014 adaptation of Normal Heart, for which he earned an Emmy nomination.
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