‘The Big Bang Theory’ season 10: Don’t expect to see Howard, Bernadette’s baby

While on Thursday night’s new episode of “The Big Bang Theory” we had a chance to learn the name of Howard and Bernadette’s baby in Halley (like the comet), it does not seem like you’re ever going to see her in the flesh. This new addition to the show will provide comedy, but she’s never going to be a viable onscreen presence.

As it turns out, this move was intentional — and also meant to echo what the show did for many years with Debbie, Howard’s mother played wonderfully by the late Carol Ann Susi. Speaking to TVLine, show executive producer Steve Molaro confirmed that you won’t be seeing the child and explained the tie-in:

“She is a loving tribute to her grandmother — this is a nice way for us to keep [Mrs. Wolowitz] alive … It also means we don’t have to have a baby on the set, so it solved lots of problems.”

This is, more than likely, the right move for the series in terms of solving another problem: The multitude of people out there who feel like adding babies to a show often diminishes the series’ overall quality. The problem with that is that viewers without children often don’t relate to the story as much, and therefore don’t find stories tied to the subject as interesting. That isn’t always the case, though, since “How I Met Your Mother” managed to do so with Marshall and Lily pretty wonderfully. You’ll hear about the baby and they’ll factor into the story on this show, but odds are, their presence offscreen is not going to fundamentally change the series all that much.

When the show returns to the next year, Halley will likely be a central focus, but at the same time, we imagine that there will be more story made out of the government project Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard are working on to go along with Raj trying to make a major move forward in his life. Right before the child arrived tonight, he started to become depressed at the thought of his lack of accomplishments.

To get some other news on tonight’s “Big Bang Theory” episode, head over here to read our full review of what transpired. (Photo: CBS.)