‘Big Bang Theory’ star Kaley Cuoco says she was 'shocked' when Jim Parsons announced he was leaving the show

Cuoco played Penny and Parsons starred as Sheldon in the long-running sitcom, which aired for 12 seasons

Kaley Cuoco was at a loss for words when she learned that co-star Jim Parsons wanted to leave "The Big Bang Theory."

Cuoco, who played Penny in the long-running sitcom, recently opened up to Variety about her time on "The Big Bang Theory" and how news of Parsons’ impending departure left her "in a state of shock."

"Jim said, ‘I don’t think I can continue on,’" Cuoco, 35, revealed. "And I was so shocked that I was literally like, ‘Continue on with what?’ Like, I didn’t even know what he was talking about. I looked at [show creator] Chuck [Lorre]: ‘Wow. I thought we were [filming season 13] — I’m so blown away right now.’"

At the start of filming season 12, Cuoco revealed a conversation she had with co-star Johnny Galecki about the prospect of filming a potential season 13: "'Did we want to do it?' And we really did."

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Kaley Cuoco was in 'shock' when she found out about Jim Parsons wanting to depart from 'The Big Bang Theory.' (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

Following Parsons’ revelation, Lorre stated, "We’re all for one, one for all. And we’re not going to do this without the whole team," according to Cuoco.

"That was the one thing we all agreed on — we came in together, we go out together," she added.

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Parsons, 47, played Sheldon Cooper for 12 seasons on the show before ultimately deciding to call it quits -- a decision that brought the show to an end in 2019.

Following the end of "The Big Bang Theory," Cuoco has taken on a prominent role as lead star and executive producer for the HBO Max series, "The Flight Attendant."

In "The Flight Attendant," Cuoco plays Cassie Bowden, a heavy-drinking flight attendant who finds herself waking up in the wrong hotel, in the wrong bed with a dead man and no bearings about what happened.

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Cuoco has now taken on a lead role in the HBO Max series, 'The Flight Attendant.' (Getty Images)

She said after she won the rights to the book through a bidding war, she brought it to Warner Bros. and pitched the idea.

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"I said, ‘I think this is a great character. I think this could be a really great show," she explained in a virtual Television Critics Association panel in August. "And they brought me to [executive producer] Steve [Yockey] and then they brought us to [writer] Greg Berlanti and [producer] Sarah Shechter and it just kept rolling...And I still can't believe we're sitting here talking about it at the TCA."

Fox News’ Julius Young contributed to this report

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