In the new spin-off of The Big Bang Theory, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, fans should get ready to return to the iconic comic book store that Sheldon and his friends loved so much—but not in the way many expected. As the title suggests, the new series—written and produced by Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prad—will indeed be a continuation of the hilarious comedy through the character of Stuart Bloom, the comic book store owner played by Kevin Sussman; but it will take the story into a completely different dimension—or rather, multiple different dimensions. The proof comes from the first teaser released by HBO Max in the past few hours:
As the official synopsis states, Stuart must restore reality after destroying a device created by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally triggering a multiverse Armageddon that will expose him to various branches of reality—and even to… a clone of himself. In this dangerous and absurd mission, he’ll be helped by his girlfriend Denise, his geologist friend Bert—in an adventurous new role—but also by the quantum physicist and eternal pain in the neck, yet Supreme Leader of a parallel world, Barry Kripke. The key to getting to the bottom of it all will, unsurprisingly, be comic books and the superpowers they grant—and who knows, maybe along the way we’ll run into alternate versions of the beloved characters from the original The Big Bang Theory.
With its playful nods to The Matrix, The Last of Us, and many other pop culture classics, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is a rather obvious departure from the classic sitcom format, but it promises to retain the laughs and absurdity of the original series. We’ll find out this summer whether it will win over longtime fans when the series premieres on July 24 on HBO Max.
