Kaley Cuoco Makes Penny’s TBBT Dream Come True In New Project

Kaley Cuoco’s new project finally allows her to fulfill Penny’s original dream in The Big Bang Theory. It has been more than three years since the CBS geek-centric sitcom wrapped up. Since then, its cast members have ventured out and starred in new projects, including Cuoco, who has booked several new roles — all of them nothing like Penny.

Despite being an integral part of the sitcom, Penny wasn’t actually part of the original The Big Bang Theory pitch. She, alongside Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) were added after the series was reworked. Together with Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki), the group became the main Pasadena group. When Penny was introduced, she had just moved to California in the hopes of becoming an actress. It was a struggle to get her career going, forcing her to take other jobs to make ends meet. In the end, she fully pivoted and became a pharmaceutical sales representative instead which earned her more than enough money to give her a comfortable life.

Related: Kaley Cuoco’s New Movie Can Finish Penny’s Final Big Bang Theory Story

However, Cuoco can now live out Penny’s The Big Bang Theory dream through an upcoming project where she will play iconic actor, singer, and animal rights activist, Doris Day. Based on A.E. Hotchner’s Doris Day: Her Own Story from 1973 (considered the Hollywood legend’s autobiography), the limited series will supposedly break her “good girl” image, showing just how much Day was going through behind the scenes. No network is attached to the project at this point, but aside from starring in it, Cuoco’s Yes! Normal Productions will once again produce, the same way they did with the critically-acclaimed HBO Max show, The Flight Attendant. Cuoco playing an actress as iconic as Doris Day vicariously gives an idea of how Penny’s life could have been if she ultimately became an actress at the end of The Big Bang Theory.

Why Penny Never Became An Actress In Big Bang Theory

For years, Penny was committed to her dream of becoming a star, but she never got her big break. She did appear in a few indie movies and even tried her hand at a musical until she ultimately decided that she needed to be more practical with her plan. Ultimately, Penny changed her career. As a thriving pharmaceutical sales representative towards the end of The Big Bang Theory, her salary was more than enough for her and Leonard, effectively solving her financial woes. In theory, this financial security could have also allowed her to pursue her old passion again, but for some reason, CBS never revisited the narrative in The Big Bang Theory. Undoubtedly, it would have been great to see her achieve her lifelong dream the same way Sheldon did when he won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Whether or not deliberate, Cuoco has recently been choosing projects that cannot be farther from who she portrayed in The Big Bang Theory, and understandably so since it’s safe to say that after playing the same role for 12 years, she wants to do something different. Despite this, some of her new roles are oddly tied to her stint in the CBS sitcom. Aside from the upcoming Doris Day biopic, the actress is also starring in Role Play, a thriller film directed by Thomas Vincent where she plays a first-time mom — something that The Big Bang Theory wasn’t able to do as it already ended before Penny gave birth to her and Leonard’s child.