New ‘Big Bang Theory’ Spin-Off Sends Stuart on a Reality-Bending Adventure
The world of The Big Bang Theory is officially getting a wild new chapter, and this time it’s all about Stuart. HBO Max has greenlit a new spin-off series titled Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, according to a report from Variety. The idea has been floating around since April 2023, but now it’s really happening.
The cast will feature some familiar faces from the original show, including Kevin Sussman, who returns as Stuart. Lauren Lapkus, Brian Posehn, and John Ross Bowie are also back as Denise, Bert, and Barry Kripke. The show is being created by Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady, the same team behind the original series.
HBO Max also revealed what the show is actually about. The plot follows Stuart, the comic book store owner, as he accidentally breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard. That little mistake kicks off a multiverse-level disaster. Now, Stuart has to fix the mess before reality completely falls apart. He’s not alone, though; Denise, Bert, and Kripke are all part of the mission. Along the way, they’ll meet alternate versions of characters fans already know from The Big Bang Theory. And, as the title makes pretty clear, it doesn’t exactly go smoothly.
Chuck Lorre explained why he wanted to do something totally different this time. “I wanted to do something radical that would take me out of my comfort zone. Something the characters on ‘The Big Bang Theory’ would have loved, hated, and argued about,” he said.
Zak Penn shared a pretty hilarious story about how he got involved. “I was on a vision quest in the most remote parts of the Amazon Rainforest when a carrier pigeon arrived with a note from Chuck Lorre asking if I wanted to help make a show that the characters from ‘Big Bang Theory’ would watch,” he said. “I couldn’t resist that idea, so I packed up my yurt and hailed the next dirigible out.” He also joked about how Chuck had to send a rescue team to find Bill Prady, who was “frozen with his shield across his chest in a block of arctic ice.”
This new show will be the fourth one set in the Big Bang universe. The original series ran for 12 seasons on CBS. Then came Young Sheldon, which ended in 2024 after seven seasons. A spin-off from that, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, debuted later that same year. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is the first series order announced since HBO Max rebranded itself, again, as HBO Max.
Bill Prady seems just as excited as everyone else. “The process of writing this show with Chuck and Zak has been damn fun, and I’m certain that joy will come through the screen,” he said. “Putting characters we loved from ‘The Big Bang Theory’ into a complex science fiction story with the kind of mythology that those characters love while maintaining the comedic elements is incredibly satisfying.”
Channing Dungey, who runs Warner Bros. Television Group, added, “Chuck and Bill have given us one of the most enduring comedies of our time with ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ and we can’t wait to see the universe continue with this new series.”
And if you’re wondering how different this show will look compared to the others, Lorre had an answer for that too. “There’s a lot of CGI,” he said during a panel at the Banff World Media Festival. “There’s a lot of special technical stuff. For me, in my career, a big production number was two people sitting on a couch, drinking coffee! This is different. This is trying to incorporate some of that world of science fiction and fantasy into a comedy. And I’m completely out of my element, which is what I wanted. Which is what I was hoping to do, something that I had no experience with. And maybe I can learn as we go.”
It sounds like this spin-off is aiming to be more than just another comedy. It’s weird, it’s big, and it’s definitely something new for fans of the Big Bang world.
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