The CBS mega-hit sitcom might not have been a mega-hit if the writers’ strike hadn’t happened.

"The Big Bang Theory" debuted in the fall of 2007, and as co-creator Bill Prady remembers it, CBS filled the programming void left by the strike by airing "Big Bang" reruns multiple times, helping the freshman show find an audience.

It earned a second-season renewal… and the rest is TV history.

http://tvline.com/gallery/writers-strike-tv-2008-photos-breaking-bad-friday-night-lights-the-big-bang-theory/#!4/the-big-bang-theory-season-1-cbs/