Margo Harshman enjoyed something of a breakout role in The Big Bang Theory, when she appeared in four episodes of the Chuck Lorre sitcom between 2012 and 2013. While her career has not exactly catapulted to the stars in the aftermath, she has continued working steadily in the industry.
The Big Bang Theory aired on CBS for 12 years, starting September 2007, with the final episode being broadcast on May 16, 2019. One of the things that gave the show such longevity was its ability to maintain a fresh perspective with new characters, most of whom only had short-lived story arcs.
Big Bang gained popularity for often featuring famous figures as guest stars, including people like Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Bill Nye the Science Guy who are not actors by profession.
Other than that, prominent actors like Regina King, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Christine Baranski, and even comedian Lewis Black enjoyed guest or recurring roles on TBBT.
Most of these would leave with very positive feedback about their experiences working with the main cast members of the show. It is in this latter category of actors who were cast in minor recurring roles where Harshman fits. Here is what she has been up to since the end of Big Bang.
The character portrayed by Margo Harshman on The Big Bang Theory was known as Alex Jensen. She first appeared in Season 6 of the sitcom, making her very first foray in the third episode. Alex's journey began when Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) sought the assistance of a graduate student at Caltech University.
In the beginning, viewers could sense that Alex had a fondness for Leonard Hofstadter, played by Johnny Galecki. She plucked up the courage to invite him to dinner in a later episode, a gesture that thrilled Leonard.
One notable storyline involved Sheldon tasking Alex with the mission of finding a perfect Valentine's Day gift for his girlfriend, Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik). Alex fulfilled this mission in the episode titled The Tangible Affection Proof (Season 6 Episode 16).
However, fans were left puzzled when she suddenly disappeared from the show. This abrupt exit left viewers scratching their heads, wondering what became of Alex, and why her character was never mentioned again in the series.
One of the major subplots of The Big Bang Theory followed the love story between Leonard Hofstadter and Penny (Kaley Cuoco). The pair started out as friends, before falling in love with each other later on. This on-screen romance would also translate to their real lives, with the pair seeing each other for some time, albeit without their castmates' knowledge.
Leonard was a scientist, Penny worked as a waitress. They had their ups and downs, and even broke up at one point, only to eventually get back together.
Despite this fairytale love story between Leonard and Penny, fans have expressed a sense that Margo Harshman's Alex Jensen would have made a better partner for the experimental physicist than Cuoco's character.
"Anyone else think [Leonard and Alex] would be a good match if he and Penny didn't work out?," one such opinion was shared by a fan on Reddit.
Margo Harshman's final episode on The Big Bang Theory was broadcast on Valentine's Day 2013.
She appeared in the first four episodes of the comedy series Betas that was produced by Amazon Studios for the outfit's streaming platform Prime Video. She portrayed a character simply known as Lisa.
Harshman also played the role of Alison Kidman in the Fox police procedural drama series Bones. 2013 would also be the year when the San Diego-born star would make her debut appearance on NCIS, a job that would turn out to be the biggest of her post-TBBT career (as of October 2023).
On the famous CBS show, Harshman depicted a character called Delilah Fielding, described as a Department of Defense employee and the girlfriend/wife of NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray).
Harshman's other screen credits since 2013 include an episode of How I Met Your Father in February 2022, as well as movies like Toxin (2015) and Love on the Vine (2017).
