How to watch The Big Bang Theory (Season 12) online

Trying to watch The Big Bang Theory online? In this post, we’ll explain which sites let you watch The Big Bang Theory live and on-demand. We’ll also be showing how Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) can bypass regional blocking and let you live stream The Big Bang Theory abroad.

It’s been a good run, but The Big Bang Theory is finally finishing. Season 12 premiered September 24, and new episodes are released every Thursday at 1AM BST (5PM PST / 8PM EST). There are already a few episodes to catch up on but as previous series had 24 episodes, there’s still quite a while before the show ends for good. Below, we’ll explain how you can watch every episode live online.

It’s important to note that we’ll only be recommending official streams. The Big Bang Theory is such a popular show that unauthorized live streams are almost inevitable. However, these have major disadvantages, including low-quality video and a tendency to be taken offline for copyright violation. With properly licensed streams in numerous countries, there’s no reason to settle for anything less.

The best VPN for The Big Bang Theory: ExpressVPN

VPNs are among the easiest ways to stay safe while streaming. They encrypt your traffic, making it unreadable by any outside observers, such as hackers or your internet service provider. We recommend using ExpressVPN for streaming; it’s a high-speed VPN with more than 2,000 servers across 94 countries. It’s even capable of reliably unblocking streaming platforms most other VPNs have difficulty with like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer.

Getting started with ExpressVPN is simple: just choose a subscription term (one month, six months, or one year) and make a payment. This service comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test it out before committing. If you’re unsatisfied, just cancel during this time to receive a full, no-questions-asked refund. You can also use this trial period to get short-term VPN protection for free, for instance, if you’re going abroad on vacation or want to stream one specific event on a geo-bocked platform.

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Read our full review of ExpressVPN.

How to stream The Big Bang Theory from abroad with a VPN

Don’t worry, it’s fairly easy to unblock geo-restricted platforms, even if you’ve never used a VPN before:

1. First of all, you’ll have to choose a suitable VPN. We’ve already covered ExpressVPN briefly, but NordVPN and CyberGhost are two strong low-cost alternatives.
2. Download and install the software. There will be several different versions so make sure to get the right one for your operating system.
3. Choose which of the official sources below you’d like to use.
4. Connect to one of your VPN’s servers in the appropriate location. For example, you’d use a US server to unblock HBO Max, or a British one to unblock All 4.
5. Try loading a video on your chosen site. It should start almost immediately, but you might have to refresh the page to see any changes.

We strongly recommend running through the steps above before The Big Bang Theory starts. This way, if anything goes wrong unexpectedly, you’ll still have time to contact your VPN’s customer support team for assistance.

Where to watch The Big Bang Theory online

The Big Bang Theory is extremely popular, and broadcast in dozens of countries around the world. Below, we’ll explain where you can watch, wherever you are.

US

The Big Bang Theory is broadcast on HBO Max. All episodes are available on-demand.

So how can you watch previous seasons of The Big Bang Theory online? DirecTV Now has the last few seasons and like Amazon, iTunes, and the Google Play Store, allows you to purchase older episodes individually. You can also stream whichever reruns recently aired on TBS for free, but these are only available for a short time.

UK

Season 12 of The Big Bang Theory isn’t premiering in the UK until October 18. It will then air every Thursday night at 8:30 PM on E4. This means you’ll be able to watch every new episode live, for free, on All 4. You do have to create an account first though. During the registration process, you’ll be asked to enter a UK postcode, but there is no verification process in place.

All 4 currently doesn’t allow users to watch old episodes of The Big Bang Theory on-demand. This isn’t a problem, however, as seasons 1–11 are available in their entirety on Netflix UK. If you don’t already have a Netflix subscription, you can get one for £5.99 per month, with your first month free.

Canada

CTV is making each week’s episode freely available online the day after its initial broadcast. However, in order to watch previous episodes from season 12, or access the live stream, users will have to login with their cable provider details first. The Comedy Network also shows new episodes live, but like CTV, requires a cable subscription to watch.

Unfortunately, there’s no major streaming service that allows Canadian viewers to watch every previous season of The Big Bang Theory. Crave offers seasons 1-7 and cost $9.99 CAD per month, but for later episodes, the only option is to purchase them individually on iTunes or the Google Play Store. Remember, if you’re outside of your home country, you can still tune in to watch live streams from your usual provider with a VPN.

New Zealand

Fans in New Zealand can watch every episode of The Big Bang Theory for free on TVNZ. You will have to create an account first, but this only requires you to verify your email address.

Interestingly, it appears that this site has differing geo-blocking measures based on the type of content you’re trying to access. Specifically, live streams can be unblocked from abroad with several major VPNs but on-demand episodes can’t, and may return an error: “The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported”.

France

Season 12 of The Big Bang Theory can be streamed live and free of charge on NRJ 12. The live streams are region-blocked, so you’ll have to be in France or connected to a French  VPN server to watch. Note that you likely won’t be able to load the stream while using a ad-blocker.

Unfortunately, you can’t watch previous episodes on-demand on NRJ 12. MyCanal subscribers can stream the first season online, but this service starts at €19.90 per month, which is a little expensive. MTV France shows back-to-back reruns from early seasons almost every night, but again, these can’t be viewed online.

Other locations

The Big Bang Theory actually airs in far more countries than the ones we’ve listed above. While there’s no official list of international broadcasters, fans over at the show’s Wikia site have created their own. While we can’t confirm that this list is 100% up-to-date, it does include current official sources for numerous countries.

Can I watch The Big Bang Theory with a free VPN?

Free VPNs can seem appealing at first glance, but they actually come with several major disadvantages. For example, these services have huge numbers of users, yet fewer servers to help spread the load. This means that you’re likely to experience long loading times, video that stutters frequently, and perhaps even occasional disconnection from the VPN. Obviously, this isn’t great for those looking to stream live content, but to make matters worse, free VPNs are usually the first to be blacklisted by major streaming platforms.

Global server networks are expensive to build and maintain, so how can a free service afford it? The truth is that free VPNs profit from their users, whether it’s by injecting ads into the sites you visit, or using tracking cookies to keep tabs on your activities. Once enough information has been recorded, details of your browsing habits can be sold to third parties without your knowledge. VPNs are supposed to increase your anonymity online, but business practices like these are morally grey at best, and could represent a major security risk.

For the layman, it’s incredibly difficult to tell if you’re using a legitimate VPN or not. Trojans masquerading as free VPNs hide in plain sight on the Google Play Store, and even if you download a free VPN that doesn’t include malware, there’s no guarantee it’ll actually encrypt your traffic. Well-known services aren’t necessarily safer; in 2015, we saw a major player in this space sell user bandwidth to help run a botnet. We recommend using a reputable VPN service which is open about its encryption methods and has a customer-first logging policy.

What’s new in The Big Bang Theory season 12?

Showrunner Steve Holland has already revealed that this will be the final season of The Big Bang Theory. While the 24-episode run means that there’s plenty of time for more one-episode stories, the writers’ main focus will be resolving long-running plotlines in a way that’s satisfying for the audience.

There’s one in particular that will undoubtedly be given several episodes worth of airtime: Sheldon’s “super asymmetry” breakthrough from the season 11 finale. We’ve seen him make major discoveries in the past, but this could be the one that sees him get the recognition and status he’s seeking for years. According to Holland, it’s important that the audience realizes the character “is as smart as we’ve said he is.”