feuds

TV Producer Cries Foul Over Foreign Big Bang Theory Rip-off

The Belarusian word for “nerd” is “nerd.”

Chuck Lorre — who produces The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men and does that thing with the vanity cards after the credits where he writes long essays on them that you have to pause (or go to his website) to read — is angry at the tiny country of Belarus for ripping off one of his shows. After last night’s episode of The Big Bang Theory, the monster hit CBS sitcom about four nerdy scientists and their ditzy blonde neighbor (that’s really surreal without its laugh track), Lorre posted a screed about the alleged rip-off show, The Theorists, which he says has characters with the same names as those on Big Bang Theory and uses scripts that are simply Russian translations of BBT. The worst part is, there’s nothing he can do about it because the show’s production company is owned and operated by the government of Belarus. (Clearly, Hillary Clinton needs to intervene before this becomes an international incident!) After seeing Lorre’s vanity card last night, blogger Larry Getlen found and posted clips from the Belarusian show — a major treat for any Big Bang Theory fans who also understand Russian.

Video of the Belarusian Big Bang Theory [Larry Getlen]
Last Night’s Chuck Lorre Vanity Card [Chuck Lorre]

TV Producer Cries Foul Over Foreign Big Bang Theory Rip-off