The Big Bang Theory season 6

The sixth season of the American television sitcom The Big Bang Theory aired on CBS from September 27, 2012 to May 16, 2013.

The series crossed the 20 million viewer mark for the first time with this season's "The Bakersfield Expedition", which along with NCIS, made CBS the first network to have two scripted series reach that large an audience in the same week since 2007. This success has been attributed to the sitcom's exposure in syndication, its late 2010 move to a new time-slot, and the influence of showrunner Steven Molaro (who took over from Bill Prady) on the characters' storylines.

During the season, Kevin Sussman became a part of the main cast as Stuart Bloom. Mark Cendrowski was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series for the season premiere "The Date Night Variable". Jim Parsons won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards for the episode "The Habitation Configuration". Mayim Bialik submitted the episode "The Fish Guts Displacement" for consideration due to her nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards. Bob Newhart won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the episode "The Proton Resurgence".

Main cast

 * Johnny Galecki as Dr. Leonard Hofstadter
 * Jim Parsons as Dr. Sheldon Cooper
 * Kaley Cuoco as Penny
 * Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz
 * Kunal Nayyar as Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali
 * Mayim Bialik as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler
 * Melissa Rauch as Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski Wolowitz
 * Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom

Special guest cast

 * Howie Mandel as himself
 * Buzz Aldrin as himself
 * LeVar Burton as himself

Recurring cast

 * Carol Ann Susi as Mrs. Wolowitz
 * Pasha Lychnikoff as Dimitri Rezinov
 * Mike Massimino as himself
 * Margo Harshman as Alex Jensen
 * Wil Wheaton as himself
 * Casey Sander as Mike Rostenkowski
 * Regina King as Janine Davis
 * John Ross Bowie as Dr. Barry Kripke
 * Kate Micucci as Lucy
 * Stephen Hawking as himself (voice)
 * Brian Posehn as Dr. "Bert" Bertram Kibbler

Guest cast

 * Jan Hoag as Lilian
 * Ken Lerner as Dr. Schneider
 * Janelle Marra as Claire
 * Ryan Cartwright as Cole
 * Meagen Fay as Mrs. Rostenkowski
 * Dakin Matthews as Santa
 * Matt Battaglia as Officer Reynolds
 * Josh Brener as Dale
 * Briana Cuoco as Gretchen
 * Riccardo LeBron as Tom
 * Bob Newhart as Dr. Arthur Jeffries/Professor Proton

Production
The season finale of season 5 depicted Howard Wolowitz traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) on board a Soyuz rocket, and season 6 features him working in the ISS. Thanks to technical consulting from Astronaut Mike Massimino, who also plays himself on the show, the production crew was able to put together sets that realistically depict the Soyuz capsule and the ISS. A small 20 ft portion of a chamber that is a model of the ISS was rented and used as the set for the ISS. "Unique camera angles and creative framing" were used to make the set look larger. To simulate weightlessness, the production crew decided to use "long skinny platforms" to support the actors from below, rather than use tethers to suspend from above. The actors were required to act out "motions of microgravity" in order to create "theatrical authenticity".

Reception
The sixth season, specifically its first four episodes, received mixed reviews compared to prior seasons. In regards to sending the Howard Wolowitz character into space, June Thomas of Slate wrote that "The Big Bang Theory's creators deserve praise for their willingness to shake things up. After five incredibly successful seasons of nerdy laughs, it would’ve been easy to coast. Instead, they chose to press the reset button and disrupt the familiar friendships. Still, I hope things settle down soon, because so far this season, it’s all been a bit of a bummer". Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club criticized the character of Wolowitz's mother, writing that "Howard's mom has outlived her usefulness on this series, and rather than an obstacle for the character, she’s become a crutch for the writers to lean on". Jesse Schedeen of IGN criticized the storylines, writing that "The entire episode was pretty much predicated on two jokes ... But those two jokes had enough mileage in them to last a full 22 minutes".