Off to a mellow start?

TV's beloved geekdom, Sheldon Cooper and Co are back for one final time on 'The Big Bang Theory', which premiered its twelfth and last season on Monday (September 24). Despite this being a wrap-up for the CBS sitcom, though, TBBT failed to garner a high viewership, taking a massive tumble in Monday night's TV ratings. 

According to reports, the Big Bang Theory's latest premiere plummeted by at least 41 percent from its season 11 rating, which had opened to 14 million viewers and a 2.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Meaning, this year's premiere averaged only a  mere 12.7 million live viewers - although significantly higher as compared to other TV shows - along with a 2.4 demo rating.

Serving a further blow to the Monday night's TV rating is 'Young Sheldon' season 2 - the spinoff prequel of 'The Big Bang Theory' - that suffered a massive viewership fall as well. The series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro opened to just 10.6 million viewers with a demo rating of 1.7 - a significant drop from last season's 12.5 million/2.2 statistics. 

The downward-facing viewership curve for the much-anticipated CBS shows, however, shouldn't come as a surprise to fans. For the longest time, in fact, the 'Big Bang Theory' fans have voiced their concerns over the length of the show - lasting over 12 seasons, the CBS series has achieved a milestone becoming the longest-running multi-camera series.

Amidst fan outcry to end the series - while there's still hope and the plot has not gone southwards - and dipping TV rating, it looks like showrunner Steve Holland and the creatives associated with the series have taken an apt decision to make season 12 the last for Big Bang Theory. 

"We all knew going into this season that there was a chance it could be the end. The cast's deals were up and it had been a long time. So, they came together and they had a discussion about it and I think people had different opinions about it but ultimately, everyone felt like this was a good time to end it and end it strong," Holland said about the series coming to an end.

"Everyone was involved in it. I was emotional. The show has been a big part of people's lives, and the decision to bring it to a close was a difficult one," Holland added. 

The Big Bang Theory goes back to its regular weekly time-slot on Thursday, September 27 onwards on CBS.