There's a reason why Kaley Cuoco can only watch older seasons of The Big Bang Theory. Playing Penny for 12 seasons until the show ended in 2019, the project catapulted the actress to mainstream popularity and made her a household name. While the sitcom maintained high ratings until the end of its run, the actress says that she cannot watch later seasons of the CBS show.
Cuoco was the only female leading player on The Big Bang Theory when it premiered in 2007, although she almost lost the career-defining role to Amanda Walsh. Following the disastrous original pilot, the episode had to be rewritten, paving the way for Penny, Howard, and Raj to join the Pasadena gang. However, it wasn't until season 4 that the show brought in Bernadette and Amy, expanding the female presence on the sitcom.
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Being with the show since it premiered, Cuoco appeared in every single episode of The Big Bang Theory, and in most of them, she played an integral part. Despite this, she says in the Conan Needs A Friend podcast that she can only watch the show's older seasons as they feel like a lifetime away from her current life. Later episodes still feel fresh to her, therefore making her emotional.
The early episodes of Big Bang – I can’t believe how many different hairstyles I had and all the different clothes. It’s very weird because I’m much more okay watching the earlier seasons as opposed to the most recent ones. The recent ones are still too emotional for me. The early, early ones feel like a different person and a different time so I’m able to watch it and laugh. But the recent ones are tough, it was strange getting out of that and figuring what the next step was going to be. In my mind, I was going to be on it for 27 years.
While Cuoco's explanation makes total sense, mostly since she spent a considerable part of her life thus far working on The Big Bang Theory, it's also odd that she's fine watching the early years of the episodes. The sitcom initially portrayed her as the typical dumb blonde, with the men frequently objectifying her. As the series progressed, however, the handling of Penny became more conservative. It's curious if this was just the natural trajectory for her arc or a conscious effort from the show's creatives, realizing the way she was initially portrayed was problematic and borderline offensive.
Cuoco did transition out of her role as Penny on The Big Bang Theory reasonably well. Fresh from the critically-acclaimed first season of The Flight Attendant, which is her first endeavor following her 12-year sitcom stint, it's just recently confirmed that the series is coming for season 2 on HBO Max. Aside from starring in the project, she also produces it, making its success much more special for her.
Source: Conan Needs A Friend