Big Bang Theory is a sitcom about geeky friends. Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, Raj and their neighbor Penny. They deal with work, relationships and tons of pop culture. Witty humor? Check. Science and geek culture references? Double check. It’s a wild ride filled with laughs and nerdy moments.

Meet the characters from Big Bang Theory

Leonard Hofstadter

Leonard is the unofficial glue of the group — sweet, exhausted, and constantly apologizing even when he hasn’t done anything, which is basically most of his life, poor guy. He’s a brilliant experimental physicist who lives in Sheldon’s shadow and somehow manages to be both stubborn and insecure at the same time (it’s a paradox, like quantum feelings). He loves comic books and grilled cheese like it’s a religion, but also will surprise you with weirdly fancy food choices on a date — yes he owns a nice wine opener, shocker. Always trying to keep the peace, usually failing spectacularly but in an endearing way, and he wears those glasses like a tiny, adorable badge of vulnerability.

Sheldon Cooper

Sheldon is a walking rulebook with a PhD and the emotional range of a very clever goldfish — precise, hilarious, infuriating, and somehow lovable, even when he’s being a joy-sucking robot. He’s a theoretical physicist obsessed with order: his spot is sacred, his roommate agreement is a masterpiece of passive-aggression, and he can recite train schedules but not how to comfort people (which he insists is a feature, not a bug). He’ll judge your taste in movies, food, and time zones but will also bring you soup when you’re sick, because he’s secretly practical and weirdly considerate, okay? Also, he says he hates chocolate but will absolutely inhale a piece if no one’s watching — not that he’d ever admit it.

Penny

Penny is the salty-sweet heart of the gang — bubbly, sarcastic, deeply pragmatic, and the kind of person who will tell you your haircut looks terrible and then bring you cookies five minutes later. She started as the aspiring actress-next-door and became a pharmaceutical saleswoman, because she’s adaptable and stubborn in the best ways; honestly she has more backbone than she lets on. She eats cereal for dinner (frequently) and is inexplicably great at giving relationship advice even when her own love life is a mess, which is the best kind of hot mess. She’ll flirt, she’ll roll her eyes, she’ll steal your fries, and you’ll forgive her every time because she’s hilarious and real and annoyingly charming.

Howard Wolowitz

Howard is loud, flashy, and somehow both a total momma’s boy and a confident astronaut — he wears ridiculous belts, has more confidence than taste sometimes, and yet can fix anything with a magnet and a smirk. He’s an aerospace engineer with a penchant for bad pick-up lines (which he tells anyway, like, relentlessly) and a winning ability to make you laugh right before you groan. Tiny stature, huge personality — and don’t underestimate him, he’s secretly very devoted and surprisingly tender when it matters. Also, he claims to hate vegetables but will lecture you about protein absorption while eating a cheeseburger at midnight; classic Howard.

Raj Koothrappali

Raj is the sweetest, most romantic, slightly trembling astrophysicist who treats the stars like old friends and every dessert like it’s a hug he desperately needs. He’s shy, especially around women (unless booze is involved, then he’s suddenly fluent in flirting), and has a whole soft, confused emotional interior that he mostly reveals via text messages and puppy GIFs. He loves Indian food but will also order something unpronounceable from a fusion place and pretend he knew what it was, because manners. He’s a hopeless romantic, vulnerable, a little neurotic, and often the guy you want to give a blanket to and tell everything will be okay.

Amy Farrah Fowler

Amy starts off like a social experiment and becomes outright terrifyingly devoted in the best way — neurobiologist, blunt, bookish, and secretly very emotional, she’s the slow-burn queen of awkward intimacy. She’s cerebral and awkward in huge waves, but once she opens up she’s brilliant, funny, and oddly competitive about board games and figure skating trivia. She collects oddly specific things (I’m pretty sure there were ceramic frogs at one point?) and will threaten you with academic citations if you cross her — also, she claims to hate candy but will hide chocolate in her drawer, which is both adorable and suspicious. Mostly she’s the person who grows with Sheldon and then everyone gets a little softer because of it, which is lovely and weird and kind of perfect.

Bernadette Rostenkowski

Bernadette is tiny, sharp, and deceptively sweet — like, she will smile and then legally threaten you, and you’ll be okay with it because her voice is kind of a squeaky locust of doom. She’s a microbiologist with a ferocious career streak and an equally ferocious ability to parent and command respect in the same sentence, which is super impressive and slightly terrifying. She loves pink, she loves dessert (too much?), and she will charm you and then immediately tell you off about your life choices — multitasking level: expert. Don’t let the baby voice fool you; she’s the one who’ll make you clean up and then sign you up for science camp, and honestly you needed both.