My first exposure to Big Bang Theory was the scene where they made fun of one of their friends for "wearing lip gloss" and refusing to call it chapstick. It was so weird and toxic and I assumed it was a gay panic joke before finding out it was the nerd show I was avoiding. Fucking terrible show.
Chapstick and lip gloss are different where I'm at. Chapstick is a thick paste stick like beeswax consistancy, and Lip Gloss is a roller tip with liquid inside.
They're different in the US where the show was written and the target audience is. Sitcoms just have terrible, toxic people in them because it's easier to write conflicts. It's Always Sunny is aware of that and takes the idea to the extreme without making the MCs likable. BBT is just lazy writing with lazy "nerd jokes"
BBT has terrible "jokes". Nerd jokes are fine, but this is lazy writing and the "nerd humor" is the only thing that sets this show apart from other sitcoms.
I would assume the US, and probably somewhere rural. I'm an hour outside a major CA city and it's like 70% functionally illiterate racists. They are not fans of books.