Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Could Seal the Fate of an Original Big Bang Theory Favorite
The Big Bang Theory is blasting back with its first spinoff sequel, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, teasing that something grim may have befallen the Pasadena crew. Seven years after the 12-season farewell, creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady reunite with Kevin Sussman stepping into the spotlight as Stuart.
Well, I did not have 'Stuart Bloom becomes a multiverse savior' on my Big Bang bingo card, but here we are. The Big Bang Theory is getting its first straight-up sequel series, and it is not doing the cozy sitcom thing. It is going full sci-fi chaos.
So, what is Stuart Fails to Save the Universe?
Seven years after The Big Bang Theory wrapped its 12-season run, creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady are back with a sequel built around Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom. The premise is gloriously un-Stuart: he accidentally breaks a high-concept gadget cooked up by the old gang and, whoops, now he has to hop across the multiverse to stop reality from collapsing.
He is absolutely not the person you want handling that kind of thing, so he ropes in some familiar faces to help. The show leans hard into sci-fi spectacle; the first trailer makes it clear this is not just 'the comic book store guys hang out' with a little tech sprinkled on top. It is big, trippy, and proudly ridiculous.
The gang showing up (and who is not)
- Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom, now accidentally responsible for saving, well, everything
- Lauren Lapkus as Denise, back in the mix and enlisted for the adventure
- Brian Posehn as Bert Kibbler, whose rock-geology brain may actually be useful
- John Ross Bowie as Barry Kripke, because if you are breaking the universe, you might as well bring chaos incarnate
Behind the scenes, it is the original architects again: Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady are steering the ship. And this is the franchise ’s first sequel series (Young Sheldon was a prequel), which matters for where this plugs into Big Bang continuity.
Where this fits in the Big Bang timeline
The show takes place after The Big Bang Theory finale — the one capped by Sheldon and Amy winning the Nobel Prize in Physics. That finale deliberately left everyone’s lives rolling forward as usual, no big 'end of an era' freeze-frame. The new series backs that up and adds a very specific update: Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard collaborate on a device with the extremely on-brand name 'Vari-state Quantum Entanglement Device.' That is the thing Stuart smashes, and that is the domino that sends him universe-jumping.
One wrinkle: the earliest description of the show only credited Sheldon and Leonard with building it. The trailer now includes Howard as a co-designer. Which raises a glaring question...
So... where is Raj?
The device credits Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard — but not Raj. For a group that basically did everything together, that stands out. The trailer also nudges the idea that something not-great may have happened involving Raj. It is a tease, not confirmation, but the implication is there.
Context that makes this weirder: during Young Sheldon, adult Sheldon’s narration occasionally dropped little life updates about the Pasadena crew. He referenced Penny and Howard along the way, but never name-checked Leonard or Bernadette directly. And Raj? No post-finale updates at all. He is the only main cast member we have heard nothing about since Big Bang ended.
If you are connecting dots, Raj’s finale arc did not exactly land with the same clarity as everyone else’s. Things fizzled with Anu, his career felt stalled, and he was largely left in a holding pattern while the Nobel plot powered the ending. It is not hard to imagine he eventually left Pasadena to reboot his life — or even moved back to India to be closer to family. None of that is confirmed, but it is a cleaner explanation for his absence from the Vari-state project than 'his friends froze him out,' which would be grim.
Wait, what is Stuart actually doing?
Short version: he breaks the brainy boys’ reality-bending machine, destabilizes the multiverse, and then barrels through alternate timelines trying to patch it all up. He is way out of his depth, which is the joke and the premise, and he recruits Denise, Bert, and Kripke to form the strangest save-the-world team this franchise could plausibly assemble. The trailer pushes the pedal on 'wild' even harder than the logline — this is the most genre-forward thing the Big Bang brand has ever attempted.
Release plan
All 10 episodes of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe drop July 23, 2026 on HBO Max.