Debuting on Thursday, the HBO Max sci-fi spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe sends its characters into multiverse chaos. The premiere introduces a post-apocalyptic Pasadena and shocks fans by killing off an original Big Bang Theory character, setting up a high-stakes ten-episode run.
The big bang happened nearly 14 billion years ago, but The Big Bang Theory started in 2007, anchoring four male nerds and an exasperated waitress to a Pasadena couch for 12 years. Franchise expansion began in 2017 with Slate Magazine, followed by Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage in 2024. Now, the universe has fractured again. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe premiered on Thursday, rolling out 10 episodes on HBO Max.
Multiverse Chaos and the CalTech Break-In
The series begins in a post-apocalyptic Pasadena where comic book store owner Stuart, played by Kevin Sussman, receives a visit from an alternate version of himself. According to Deadline, this parallel-universe visitor urges Stuart to fix reality after he accidentally breaks a quantum interference device built by Sheldon and Leonard, sparking a multiverse Armageddon. Teaming up with Bert, played by Brian Posehn, Stuart sets out on a mission that starts with a break-in at CalTech to retrieve the machine.
Along the way, Stuart and Bert run into Stuart’s old flame Denise — now working as a common thief — and her boyfriend Gary, who join the mission. Gary is swiftly and without ceremony killed off in the premiere.
“I have spent almost forty years writing scenes in which a small group of people sit on a couch and exchange witty banter. … I just couldn’t do the couch thing anymore. I had to try something else.”
Chuck Lorre, via Slate Magazine
Barry Kripke, Raj Koothrappali, and the Premiere’s Shocking Death
Inside CalTech, Stuart, Bert, and Denise encounter a much bigger surprise: Deadline’s Raj, who has been imprisoned there for years under the rule of the Great Khalif of South Pasadena. That villainous ruler turns out to be Barry Kripke, played by John Ross Bowie. When Raj figures out how to repair the broken quantum device, Kripke shoots him in the back just seconds before completion to protect his reign.
Co-creator Bill Prady told Deadline that they liked the idea because they knew they could bring characters back.
“He’s the most likable character maybe in TV history, it’s like it’s like shooting Fonzie, I feel terrible.”
John Ross Bowie, Actor, via Deadline
Co-creator Zak Penn reassured viewers that the character’s death is not permanent across the multiverse. Immediately following the shooting, Bert delivers an extended beatdown to Kripke as comedic payback, a sequence Bowie noted was Penn’s idea to ensure Kripke faced an immediate comeuppance.
An All-Star Cast and Expanding Cameos
Alongside Sussman, Posehn, and Bowie, Lauren Lapkus stars as Denise. The series also features guest appearances from other franchise alumni.
Lorre emphasized that despite the heavy use of visual effects and alternate realities, the comedy relies on character honesty.
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