How to watch The Big Bang Theory online

The final season of The Big Bang Theory finished on May 16, 2019. The Big Bang Theory ran for an impressive 12 seasons: 279 episodes in all. Below, we’ll explain how you can watch every episode 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 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: NordVPN

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 NordVPN for streaming; it’s a high-speed VPN with more than 5,700 servers across 60+ 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 NordVPN 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-blocked platform.

EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT: Comparitech readers can save 65% on two-year NordVPN subscriptions. This brings the monthly cost down to just $3.79.

Read our full review of NordVPN.

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 NordVPN briefly, but ExpressVPN and Surfshark 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.

Where to watch The Big Bang Theory online

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

US

The Big Bang Theory was broadcast on Max and all episodes are still available on-demand. Subscriptions cost $15.99 a month without ads, or $9.99 a month with ads.

Other options for watching The Big Bang Theory online include Hulu, which will cost you $49.99 for the first three months of a subscription, SlingTV

Alternatively you can sign up to YouTubeTV and watch all 12 seasons live. A subscription of $72.99 a month provides access to live TV from 85+ channels. Live streaming is also available from Sling TV.

You can rent individual episodes of The Big Bang Theory from a range of vendors, including Apple TV, YouTube, Vudu, and Google Play Movies & TV.

UK

All episodes of The Big Bang Theory are available 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. Those with subscriptions to Amazon Prime Video or Netflix can also access all seasons of The Big Bang Theory on-demand.

You can rent individual episodes from YouTube, Apple TV, and Google Play Movies & TV.

Canada

All episodes of are available for free on CTV Television Network. Crave also has all 12 season on-demand, though you’ll need a subscription to watch them. Subscriptions start at $9.99 a month.

Individual episodes are available to rent from YouTube, Apple TV, and Google Play Movies & TV.

New Zealand

Fans in New Zealand don’t have many options. You’ll either need a subscription to Netflix or a subscription to Amazon Prime Video to watch The Big Bang Theory. If you have neither, you can get a seven-day free trial from Amazon Prime Video.

France

You can watch episodes of The Big Bang Theory 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. However, if you’ve got a Netflix or Amazon Prime Video subscription you’ll be able to binge all episodes.

Altneratively, you can rent episodes from Canal VOD, YouTube, Apple TV, and Google Play Movies & TV.

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. It will also tell you whether the show is subtitled or dubbed.

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.