'The Big Bang Theory' season 11 premiere date, cast news, spoilers: Lead stars take pay cuts for their co-stars; prequel series casts two leads

Negotiations to lock in cast members of "The Big Bang Theory" season 11 are done, and its lead actors took pay cuts to sponsor their co-stars' raises. Meanwhile, a prequel series featuring a young Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) already has two cast members.

TVLine reports that "The Big Bang Theory" has been renewed by CBS for seasons 11 and 12, and according to series co-creator Bill Prady, negotiations for the show's cast members to return are done.

One of the reasons why the deals took a long time to lock in is that Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik — who play Bernadette and Amy, respectively — asked for a raise on their paychecks, Variety reports.

But since the show's five lead actors — Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar, and Simon Helberg — earn a million dollars per episode, Warner Bros. TV and CBS found it difficult to address their requests.

However, all five leads agreed to take off $100,000 off their salaries to fund Bialik and Rauch's raise in their paychecks. This showed how important it was for the cast to stay together and finish two more seasons of the show that brought them all together.

Meanwhile, the sequel featuring a young Sheldon has already landed two actors to play its lead characters.

Deadline reports that Iain Armitage, who is currently on "Big Little Lies," will be playing the young and quirky Sheldon, while his mother Mary Cooper, will be portrayed by Zoe Perry, who is actually the daughter of the actress who plays Mary in "The Big Bang Theory," Lauri Metcalf.

The prequel series kicks off when Sheldon is only 10 years old and living in Texas with his older brother George, fraternal twin sister Missy, and their mother Mary. Sheldon's father, George Cooper, will also be featured in the prequel series.

"The Big Bang Theory" season 11 is expected to premiere this 2017.