The latest Big Bang Theory spin-off has launched — and there’s not a “Bazinga” in sight. In fact, based on the premiere episode of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, this series is worlds apart from anything we’ve seen before in the franchise.
Unlike the preceding spin-offs Young Sheldon and Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage, which still lived inside the traditional sitcom format, Stuart is a genre-bending sci-fi comedy that The Big Bang Theory‘s collection of comic-obsessives more than likely would have been obsessed with.
The opening moments of the series premiere, streaming now on HBO Max, transport us back to the Comic Center of Pasadena, which is still being run by our low-key hero, Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman). But there’s one big difference between this Stuart and the one we previously knew: he’s now in the middle of a post-apocalyptic world.
The people to blame for the fragile and dangerous state of the world? None other than Big Bang’s Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Sheldon (Jim Parsons), and Howard (Simon Helberg), who we’re told created a quantum entanglement device that malfunctioned and screwed up not just our universe but all universes. (By the way, one of many things you’ll learn about this show is that hearing familiar names does not mean they’ll appear in the show)
Since Stuart was present when the device malfunctioned, it’s up to him to right the universal wrongs. This information is passed onto him by… himself, or at least a Stuart “from another stream of reality.” The Stuart in this universe is told he must get the device from Caltech, but the other Stuart disappears before he can explain exactly what he needs to do with it. From there, our Stuart is joined by his ex-girlfriend Denise (Lauren Lapkus), geologist Bert Kibbler (Brian Posehn), and, eventually, antagonistic physicist Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie) to begin their 10-episode journey.
As you can tell, there’s a lot to unpack with this big take on a Big Bang Theory spin-off. Gold Derby asked the cast and producer to answer some key questions about the premiere what we can expect going forward.
1. Is this Stuart the same Stuart from The Big Bang Theory?
Trying to keep all the various universes — and the characters within them — straight is going to be a lot… in a fun way. “You can’t think too hard about it,” warns Lapkus, before Sussman clarifies that “the Stuart that we meet in Episode 1 is actually not the Stuart from The Big Bang Theory, although that Stuart is the one that comes to tell him [about saving the universe].” A quizzical expression understandably crosses his face after that explanation. “I think that’s right.”
Let’s allow Stuart executive producer, Bill Prady, who co-created The Big Bang Theory with Chuck Lorre, to explain further. “It seems that when that machine malfunctioned, it altered the present and the past because all of these universes seem to have a consistent past that brings them to where they are,” he says. “So the answer is… they might be the same Stuart.”
2. How did they decide what the physical device would look like?
Prady, Lorre, and executive producer Zak Penn give credit to property master Sarah Snyder for creating the havoc-wreaking device. “It couldn’t look like something you buy in a store,” notes Lorre. “It had to look like something cobbled together in a laboratory.”
The device also shouldn’t run perfectly and predictably. For example, it may not always start and function when the characters need it the most. “It’s not an instant escape,” says Prady, before adding that “the vertical glowy tube [on the device] may be vaguely Doctor Who but it all worked.”
The final piece of the puzzle was deciding how the main characters would lug the device around throughout their multiverse travels. “They had to be able to carry it, but it also had to be too big to carry easily,” says Prady. Sussman confirms that it had the right heft. “It was heavy enough that when there was a question of which one of us should be holding it, we were always like, ‘Barry is probably holding it right now.’”
3. What went into the theme song and opening titles?
Given the show itself is unconventional the producers wanted to create a unique theme song as well. So Lorre asked Batman and The Nightmare Before Christmas composer Danny Elfman to take a crack at it, with only one specific mandate. “Take the freedom and the liberty to mess with it and make variations on that theme,” Lorre says of his main instruction to the Emmy winner and Oscar nominee. “We changed the credit sequence to make it worth watching, and there’s an opportunity for Danny to go ahead and mess with the music as well.”
Viewers should be aware that opening titles themselves will change with every episode, and each new version will feature a spoiler. For example, the first episode’s credits-specific spoiler is “Gary Dies,” and, sure enough, Denise’s new boyfriend, Gary (Tommy Walker), perishes shortly after we meet him.
“We were clearly tearing apart the structure of the whole storytelling process throughout,” says Lorre. “We weren’t committed to being very linear and respectful of the tropes of science fiction.”
4. Does seeing Raj bode well for other Big Bang characters popping up?
Kunal Nayyar returning as a heavily bearded Raj Koothrappali is a sign of things to come. Some of the already announced returns from the wide, wide world of The Big Bang Theory are Christine Barasnki as Dr. Beverly Hofstadter; Joshua Malina as Caltech’s president, Dr. Siebert; and Riki Lindhome as Dr. Ramona Nowitzki. But don’t expect any of those returning favorites to be like their previous incarnations. “I could tell it was fun for [the actors] to be the same characters from the original show, but completely oddball, weird versions,” Sussman says.
And while the Raj we see in the premiere is shot and killed by Kripke, that doesn’t mean we won’t see him or the other dead characters — maybe even Gary? — again. “There’s a lot more of that to come,” promises Penn.
5. Did John Ross Bowie like Kripke’s Grand Khalif of Pasadena uniform?
We learn during the premiere that once civilization fell apart, Kripke saw an opportunity to, in his words, “seize power, got all the food, the guns and the girls.” Whil he may not hold onto that power beyond the first episode, Bowie loved his uniform.
“It’s one of those moments where sometimes the costume just does a lot of the heavy lifting for you,” the actors says. “You put that thing on with the fake insignia on the chest, and you can’t help but carry yourself differently. It does something to your attitude.”
6. How much work went into Denise kicking Kripke’s butt?
“It was a really fun scene,” Lapkus says of that brawl, giving kudos to the stunt team for their choreography. “We worked on that for a couple hours because it’s very specific; there’s a point where we’re practically hugging, but I’m about to knee him in the crotch. [The stunt performers] are so talented, and they make it look so easy — but I felt like I was throwing my whole body around.”
The actors tease that there are more physical challenges to come throughout the first season. Good thing that Sussman got a crash course in action from Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson, when they worked together on Apple TV’s Lessons in Chemistry. “She said, ‘Work on your abs because being hoisted up in the flying position is brutal on your abs.’” the actor recalls. “Did I work on my abs? No! Because it was just one episode, but it was not unpainful.”
7. Is there a romantic future for Stuart and Denise?
Besides the universe-saving business, the show’s other primary thread is Stuart and Denise’s love story. “It grows really nicely,” says Lapkus. “We go through so much together.”
“Stuart and Denise are silly together, but they develop their relationship in a really nice, sweet, supportive way that is a new frontier for Stuart,” Sussman echoes. “That was one of my favorite things about doing this show.”
Romance may not be exclusive to Stuart and Denise, either. Bowie teases that Bert and Kripke may also find love… or something akin to it. “Both characters get a chance,” he says.
8. Will viewers be able to predict what comes next?
In the final moments of the premiere, Stuart, Bert, and Kripke (but not Denise) bring the device back to a calm and serene Pasadena. But are things really as peaceful as they they seem, considering they have mysterious small devices on the back of their necks?
Don’t count on it, says Posehn. “Each week there was something crazy and different from the last week,” the actor notes, adding that you don’t necessarily have to be a Big Bang Theory wizard to follow along, using his 17-year-old son as an example. “He’s never watched the original, but can watch this whole new sci-fi adventure comedy concept that’s super fun.”
“If you’re new to the universe and you start watching episode one of Stuart, you get a pretty quick idea of who these characters are and who they are to each other,” echoes Bowie.
That’s true no matter which universe you happen to be in.
