Adam Pally and Casey Wilson told Zap2It that Max is not going to respond well to Penny getting a boyfriend later in the season, so he finds himself a replacement. Who Charted? host Kulap Vilaysack is that replacement. Pally explained: “Her name is Nicole, but Max pronounces it ‘Nickel’ because it’s five times as much as Penny…She turns out to be crazy.â€Â There is a reason why Howard calls her Ku-Ku, like cuckoo.