Jim Parsons Reacts to 'Big Bang Theory' Ending Amid Reports He Walked Away From Show

Jim Parsons is reacting to the news that The Big Bang Theory will end with its twelfth season, which will kick off this fall.

The 45-year-old actor wrote a note to his fans just one day after the news broke that he reportedly decided to walk away from the show (via EW).

“It is hard (nearly impossible, actually) to really accept that this is a picture of the first of the final 24 episodes we will shoot for The Big Bang Theory. I feel very fortunate that we have another 23 episodes to shoot this season because I am hopeful that with each and every one, my level of REALLY accepting this fact will sink in,” he wrote on Instagram. “Something else I feel grateful for – and this gratitude needs no time to ‘sink in’ or become more ‘realized;’ this grateful feeling is always with me but is multiplied in this moment of us announcing our final season – but I feel such intense gratitude for our devoted viewers who are the ACTUAL reason we have been graced with the opportunity to explore these characters for 12 years of our lives.”

Jim continued, “And while I know that they already know it, it bears repeating again and again: I am so terribly grateful for the cast in this picture and the cast members who aren’t pictured here – whether they were in one scene or many episodes along the way; you are all my playmates that I have fallen in love with and who have become a part of my life on set and off.”

“You are my playmates when we don’t feel like playing but have to because it’s our job to get out there and communicate and pretend we’re these other fictional people and we look into each other’s eyes and say these words and end up creating this weird, other reality that has enriched my life more than I will fully ever understand. I will miss all of you and all of this more than I can say and more than I can know at this time,” Jim added.

Kaley Cuoco also posted a tribute to the show after the news, as did Mayim Bialik.