The show returns on September 21 for its premiere, but after that it’s going to have a brief pause and return for good on November 5. Given the pause between the premiere of the new season and the airing of the rest of the episodes, the producers might have something truly exciting planned for that first episode of season 9.
In the end, a lot can happen in just one episode too, and the show’s producers are likely carefully planning the developments in the season 9 premiere in order to generate as much hype as possible for the new season.
This is one of the shows with the largest fan following right now, and this probably puts some extra pressure on its producers to come up with a truly original storyline that will keep fans entertained. The decision to break up Amy and Sheldon was likely motivated by that as well, as it was a development that generated a lot of hype for the show and revived interest in it.