With just about two weeks to go until "The Big Bang Theory" series finale airs, actor Simon Helberg is letting fans on a sweet behind-the-scenes ritual.
The 38-year-old actor took to Twitter on Tuesday to share a heartwarming photo of the cast in a group hug, explaining that the co-stars have embraced one another before shooting every episode.
"We have done this 278 times. Before every show. For 12 years. Tonight we’ll do it for the last time," he wrote.
Helberg, who plays lovably nerdy engineer Howard Wolowitz on the long-running CBS comedy, is hardly the only member of the cast who's feeling sentimental these days.
Melissa Rauch, who plays Howard's microbiologist wife, Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, recently opened up to TODAY about her favorite moments from the series.
Helping to tell the love story between two offbeat scientists has been a lot of fun, said Rauch.
“One of my favorite parts about Bernadette's relationship with Howard is how sexy she finds him,” she shared. “Whenever there's a moment for Bernadette to talk about how she loves the way he dresses. Or there was an episode this season where Lauren Lapkus' character asks ‘Why Howard?’ and Bernadette's like, ‘Have you seen him?’ That is my favorite — just shows her extreme love for him."
Rauch also credited the show's "genius" writers for creating characters who've grown up right along with viewers.
"One of the benefits of having a show run this long is that we really have gotten to see these characters evolve in a very organic way. And it evolved into this show about the beauty of human potential," said Rauch.
She added, "These characters have had a chance to grow up and ... become the best possible version of themselves and done things that they wouldn't necessarily have seen themselves doing before."
"The Big Bang Theory" will bid farewell to fans with a special one-hour episode May 16 on CBS.