Skip to main content

Here’s how to watch The Big Bang Theory online — including season 12

The Big Bang Theory has reached its final episode and, as a result, it’s attracted a ton of viewers who are desperately searching for a reliable place to catch up on all the action leading up to those final moments.

Looking for a movie?

Recommended Videos

Keen to help whenever and wherever we can, we’ve rounded up the best places to watch The Big Bang Theory online, including season twelve. We’ve also triple-checked to ensure that the entire article is free of spoilers, so there’s no need to read with one eye closed — this is a spoiler-free zone.

How to watch The Big Bang Theory season 12

You’d think that tracking down the latest season of a TV show would be difficult, but in this case it’s rather simple. In fact, it’s so straightforward that you can be watching the first episode before the minute’s out: Just head over to CBS’ website, sign up for a CBS All Access account, then get streaming.

CBS offers a one-week free trial of CBS All Access, after which time it switches you to either a Limited Commercial or Commercial Free membership, depending on the trial you registered for — with the former, priced at $6 per month, delivering in-stream ads, and the latter, at $10 per month, no ads included.

There are 24 episodes in the twelfth season of The Big Bang Theory. Each is half an hour long. If you averaged four episodes per day, you could cover all of them in five days, leaving a day to peruse the rest of the content on offer and subsequently cancel your subscription, without paying so much as a dime.

But what about the other eleven seasons?

Unfortunately, tuning in to seasons one through eleven isn’t quite as painless (or cheap). That’s because the remaining 255 episodes, excluding the 24 in season twelve, aren’t cataloged on Netflix in the United States, like they are in the United Kingdom, leaving Amazon as the most convenient/legal option.

Here’s the kicker: Amazon is charging $20 for access to the inaugural season and $30 for each season thereafter, meaning you’ll need to have $320 set aside to catch up on the happenings of the first eleven seasons, before switching over to CBS All Access to watch the ultimate season for free — and that’s far from ideal.

It’s worth noting, however, that live TV services occasionally store some episodes as catch-up content. At time of publication, for instance, Sling TV  hosts a high quantity of seasons 6-9. With that in mind, we’d recommend taking a look at all the usual suspects to see if the next season on your list is available for free. If it isn’t, your best bet is to hand over the $30 to Amazon, iTunes, or your other preferred service.

Update: This article has been updated to clarify that Netflix hosts The Big Bang Theory in the U.K., but U.S. residents won’t be able to access it there at present.

Topics
Josh Levenson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Josh served as Director of Commerce and SEO for Digital Trends Media Group, helping our Editorial teams put their quality…
Best 85-inch TV deals: Save on Samsung, Sony, TCL, and more
TCL 85s435 XL Collection 85-inch LED TV

Whether you’re putting together a full-on home theater or need a TV to fill out a large viewing area, an 85-inch TV is a good way to go big with your favorite content. And while they can get expensive, there are some 85-inch TV deals among the day’s best TV deals that are worth taking a look at. We’ve rounded up all of the best 85-inch TV deals below, where you’ll find all of the details you need to save big. And if an 85-inch TV is too much for your space you can still find plenty of savings by shopping today’s 75-inch TV deals, 70-inch TV deals, and 65-inch TV deals.
TCL 85-inch S4 4K Google TV — $680 $850 20% off

Value is front and center with the TCL 85-inch Class S4 4K smart TV, as it’s a nice balance of affordability and features. It delivers 4K picture quality with four times the resolution of Full HD, as well as endless entertainment with easy access to your favorite streaming services. Google Chromecast is built right into the TV, allowing you to easily stream movies, shows and photos from your Android or iOS device. It also has 3 HDMI inputs, which makes it great for gamers who need to connect several consoles, or for room to connect things like surround sound systems.

Read more
Score an awesome Hisense 55-inch QLED for only $230
The Hisense QD5N.

We see great TV deals all the time, and one brand that tends to collect a lot of fanfare is Hisense. Renowned for budget-friendly LEDs and QLEDs that look and perform like premium sets you’d buy from Samsung, Sony, or LG, Hisense has risen through the ranks of TV stardom. As such, we wanted to share this incredible offer with you:

Right now, when you purchase the Hisense 55-inch QD5N at Best Buy, you’ll pay $230. At full price, this model sells for $400.

Read more
You Asked: Brightness meters, and who wins the natural color contest
you asked brightness meters who wins natural color contest ep 65 on site

On today’s You Asked: Is the Hisense 110 UX really the brightest TV ever made? How do you make sure your TV is doing the upscaling rather than your Blu-ray player? And – the big one this week – do older TVs like CRT and Plasma TVs actually have better color than modern TVs?
Is the Hisense 110UX really the brightest TV ever made?
The Hisense 110 UX Digital Trends

Frank Lujan writes: I would like to know what version of Calman software you used for the Hisense 110 UX review, as well as the meter that can reach those nit levels (18,000)?

Read more