Why Bernadette Talks The Way She Does On The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory has given us the answers to some mysteries over the years, and the show has remained mum on others. During a Comic-Con panel with The Big Bang Theory writers and Melissa Rauch on Friday, we finally learned exactly why Bernadette talks the way she does on the long-running CBS comedy. Apparently, her distinctive voice wasn't a part of the original vision for the character. The actress just decided to talk like that when she went in to audition, and it immediately stuck with the character. Here's what Melissa Rauch had to say:

If there's one thing we learned from Melissa Rauch, it's that she's a pretty funny lady, even when she's not just doing the jokes The Big Bang Theory writers came up with for her. It's striking, though, that she figured out a way to do something different than the other actresses auditioning for the role of Bernadette. It's also good that she figured out a character trait that wasn't super gimmicky and wouldn't come back to bite her in the rear later on. In fact, Bernadette's chipper and high-pitched voice sort-of makes the character, and it's pretty cool that the actress and comedienne was able to come up with the idea on her own even before landing the part.

You can tell the character trait is extremely successful because it's impossible to imagine Bernadette without her distinctive voice. It feels like it's a central part of her character, and she wouldn't be the same without it. In fact, it's so central to her character that I've already spent time wondering what her child's voice is going to sound like on the show. Will The Big Bang Theory give the kid an even more chipper voice for comedic effect or will they go in the complete opposite direction and give her kid a very monotone or deep voice? There are a lot of different choices, and quite a few of them are really funny.

Of course, finding out what her kid is going to sound like requires the show to be on several more years, and that's very much still a maybe at this point. No doubt CBS would take as many new episodes as the cast is willing to give them, but at some point, the actors are likely going to say enough is enough. They've hinted as much in the past.

Regardless, The Big Bang Theory will return this fall on CBS with both Bernadette and her distinctive voice, as well as plenty of other plotlines to resolve. Tune in starting on Monday, September 19 on CBS and expect to laugh a lot.