Why The Original 'Penny' In Big Bang Theory Was So Hated (And Cut From The Show)

Unfortunately for Amanda Walsh, audiences weren’t fans of how mean she was to Leonard and Sheldon, so the pilot was reshot with Kaley Cuoco. The rest is history, but Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady believe they messed up with the original iteration of Penny and feel Walsh did a good job with what she was given to work with.

“She was terrific in the role, but the role was misconceived,” Lorre confessed to EW. “It was our responsibility.” Prady added, “Yeah, she was actually a very sweet person, and it was a lot of work for her to become that rough character.”

Walsh had hoped to return to play the revamped Penny, but it didn’t work out. “She had been so identified as that first character that it wasn’t able to happen,” Prady shared. Cuoco was cast instead, and the version of Penny she crafted alongside Lorre, Prady, and their writers was pivotal to the show’s success.

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