LOS ANGELES (AP) — In its last blast, “The Big Bang Theory” topped the TV ratings by a light-year.
The finale of the nerdy CBS comedy’s 12-season run drew 18.5 million live viewers Thursday night to easily win the week.
Sunday’s night’s much-ballyhooed finale of “Game of Thrones” was a distant second with 13.6 million live viewers.
“Game of Thrones,” however, had a comparable 18.4 million viewers across all of HBO’s platforms, making it the most-watched episode of any kind in the history of the cable channel.
“Big Bang” was a colossal ratings winner that helped keep CBS the top network for much of its run.
A prequel spinoff, “Young Sheldon,” is pulling similar numbers in its second season and will extend the life of the franchise. It finished third in last week’s ratings.