CBS confirmed its agreement with Warner Bros. TV to renew top-rated Chuck Lorre comedy "The Big Bang Theory" for three more seasons.
The deal, jointly announced Wednesday by CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler and Warner Bros. Television president Peter Roth, extends the Thursday-night comedy through the 2013-14 season, which will be its seventh.
Under the deal, CBS will reportedly pay Warner between $4 million-$4.5 million an episode -- big money for the second-highest-rated comedy on TV, but not the lofty $6 million per show "Friends" was commanding towards the end of its epic NBC run, just to put the figure in perspective.
Lorre, who already had TV's most popular comedy, "Two and a Half Men," on the air when he and Bill Prady co-created "Big Bang," had the leverage to avoid signing the usual perpetual license agreement with CBS. That meant that Warner could have taken "Big Bang" to another network if terms couldn't be reached.
But few in the TV business actually believed that CBS would let the show just walk.
"It doesn't take a theoretical physicist to see why this show is a big part of our comedy future," Tassler said in a statement. "From ratings to critical acclaim to pop-culture buzz, it's struck a chord on all levels."
