The Big Bang Theory had loads of characters that could have carried their own spinoff. Although Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) probably wouldn’t have been at the top of anyone’s list, he became the unlikely star of the HBO Max series Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. And the show’s popularity has already earned it a season two renewal.
Stuart leading his own sitcom might seem like a strange choice. Especially since the character spent most of The Big Bang Theory on the sidelines running the Comic Center of Pasadena and having very little luck with life in general. Unlike Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), and Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Stuart didn’t really get a new chapter when the show ended.
- Release Date
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July 23, 2026
- Network
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HBO Max
- Directors
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Kyle Newacheck
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Kevin Sussman
Stuart Bloom
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Brian Posehn
Bert Kibbler
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John Ross Bowie
Barry Kripke
The multiverse gives Stuart a chance to become someone else
The new series changes the rules without changing the characters
That’s what gives Stuart Fails to Save the Universe a unique vantage point. In case you missed it, the series begins when Stuart accidentally damages a device created by Sheldon and Leonard, resulting in a multiversal crisis that puts reality at risk. It’s a pretty serious situation to deal with for a character who spends most of his life selling comic books.
That’s also what makes the show so much more than just another spin-off. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe doesn’t have to keep Stuart stuck in the same mundane routine, even though the franchise spent 12 seasons establishing his behavioral habits and overall personality. The multiverse gives the writers an easy way to make some dramatic changes to a familiar character.
Stuart might still be awkward and unsure of himself. But put him in a situation where the rules of his world no longer make sense, and those qualities become something completely different. The same applies to the returning characters, who can be recognizable without having to behave exactly as they did in The Big Bang Theory.
It’s a pretty useful trick because fans already know these characters. However, the show doesn’t have to spend an entire season convincing viewers that Stuart is funny or that Bert Kibbler (Brian Posehn) is weird. Those relationships and personalities are already established. What the new series has to do is find something new for them to do.
Familiar characters can behave in completely new ways
Definitely some unexpected turns
That’s where some of the show’s best ideas come from. In Stuart Fails Episode 2, “Spoiler: Zack’s in This One,” the group ends up in a universe where an AI forces everyone to remain calm and peaceful. Stuart, Bert, and Kripke (John Ross Bowie) aren’t suddenly different people, but the rules of this world make their usual behavior much more difficult to deal with.
The series can also take one small part of a character and turn it into something bigger. Stuart Fails Episode 3, “Spoiler: Bert Is Magic,” puts Bert in a world where magic is real, and science is considered a crime. The story gives him a completely different place in the social order. He’s suddenly the person everyone looks to for answers, instead of being brushed off for his eccentricities.
That same idea can be seen in Stuart Fails Episode 4, “Spoiler: Stuart Makes a Wallet,” when Stuart discovers that he’s a successful artist who is married to Denise (Lauren Lapkus) and has two children. Kripke and Gary (Tommy Walker) are also married. And none of them remember the lives they had before. The characters are familiar, but their circumstances are so different that the relationships between them have to change.
This keeps Stuart Fails to Save the Universe from feeling like a simple continuation of The Big Bang Theory. The writers aren’t just asking what Stuart and his friends are doing now. They’re asking what these characters could become if everything around them changed. There’s also a reason Stuart is useful in these increasingly messy situations.
Stuart is the perfect character to get lost in the multiverse
Strange worlds are easier to experience with him
He’s one of the more ordinary people in the Big Bang Theory universe. He isn’t a physicist; he doesn’t have a genius-level IQ, and he certainly isn’t used to saving the world. So, when the series throws him into a strange world, he reacts to it in a way that feels much closer to what most people watching probably would, which makes him a good person to experience all of this through.
If Sheldon were the one jumping between universes, he would probably spend most of his time trying to explain the science behind them. Stuart is more likely to look around and wonder what on earth is going on. It gives the show a different kind of comedy because the audience gets to discover each new world alongside someone who isn’t prepared for it.
His relationships become more important for the same reason. Stuart needs Bert, Denise, and even Kripke because he can’t solve every problem himself. In the original series, that often made him seem like the least capable person in the room. In Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, it becomes part of what allows the story to exist at all.
That’s a pretty big change for a character who was usually there to make everyone else look smarter, more confident, or more successful. So maybe Stuart wasn’t the obvious choice for another Big Bang Theory spin-off. But maybe he was the best choice for a show that wanted to do something the original series probably never could.
- founded
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May 27, 2020
- number of users
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125 million+ users
- notable shows
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The Pitt, Peacemaker, Pretty Little Liars, Hacks
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