On what date did The Big Bang Theory air its final episode?

The Big Bang Theory aired its final episode on May 16, 2019.

The series finale, “The Stockholm Syndrome,” was the 24th episode of season 12 and the show’s 279th episode overall. CBS broadcast it in the United States, bringing the sitcom’s original run to a close after nearly 12 years on television.

The finale follows the group’s trip to Sweden for Sheldon and Amy’s Nobel Prize ceremony. It also resolves several long-running character threads, including Penny’s pregnancy and Sheldon’s struggle to recognize how much support he received from his friends. The closing scene returns the group to Leonard and Sheldon’s apartment.

Viewers sometimes confuse the finale date with the start of the final season, which premiered on September 24, 2018. May 16, 2019 is the date the series itself ended; it is not the date of the retrospective special that aired afterward, nor the release date of the season’s home-video edition.