Tonight, “The Conjugal Configuration,” the season 12 premiere, aired on CBS. It’s the last premiere of The Big Bang Theory ever.

We filmed the episode before we knew that this would be the final season of The Big Bang Theory. Thinking about that brings tears to my eyes.

No, not just because I am sad to be losing the second best job I’ve ever had (being a mom is still No. 1, but we are not into the teen years yet, so I reserve the right to modify that later…). It’s sad because I think of how excited we all were coming back for the season. It would have felt so different if we knew that this was going to be our last season opener. (Check back on Thursday to read my reactions to the airing of the second episode of the season, which we filmed several days after we found out.)

Maybe it’s better we didn’t know. I like the episode. Sheldon and Amy go on their honeymoon, which begins at Legoland and finishes in New York. We filmed on the “outdoor” part of the Warner Bros. lot, which makes you feel like you’re in a movie, so that was neat.

And ultimately, we are telling the next phase of the story of these characters. Amy and Sheldon are learning to negotiate life as a married couple. I’m always so thrilled to have scenes with Jim; he is endlessly funny and wise and entertaining.

Here are a few fun tidbits from the season opener:

1. Yes, the LEGO breakfast Sheldon made for Amy in the first scene was actually all made from LEGO! I’m pretty sure someone in our production office assembled it.
2. Jim and I both have pretty good knowledge of New York (my family is from there, and he often does Broadway in the summers), but we could not figure out for the life of us what the “New York backdrop” was outside of our honeymoon hotel room. I guessed somewhere in Chelsea, but there weren’t any of the landmarks he and I typically use to navigate New York, such as the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building.
3. There were a few options of items for our tour guide to be carrying for our tour of the Tesla sites toward the end of the episode. One was a “Flash” thunderbolt and the other was an orange flag. I don’t remember which take they ended up using! (Let me know below!)
4. The week we filmed that episode there had been a heat wave in Los Angeles, with temperatures over 100 most days. I was so worried to film outside because I run hot (thanks, perimenopause) and my character wears three layers of clothing, including tights and skirts typically made of heavy corduroy and sweaters made of hot material. Two things worked in my favor. First, a brutally early 6:30 a.m. call time meant the sun wasn’t fully blazing yet. Second, it happened to be a bit cloudy that morning, so by the time we finished filming that scene, the sun was just breaking through the clouds, and I didn’t end up totally drenched in sweat. Just partially.

Tune in Thursday for my Big Bang Theory wrap-up of the second episode of season 12, where Sheldon and Amy get an indescribable wedding present from Leonard and Penny and are convinced it has a very deep meaning.