The latest Big Bang Theory universe expansion has the potential to look and feel unlike any offshoot that came before it — and based on several clues, I’m beginning to think it will.
Whereas Young Sheldon served as a prequel chronicling Sheldon Cooper’s childhood, and sequel-to-the-prequel Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage has continued that story but shifted focus to Sheldon’s older brother and sister-in-law, HBO Max‘s Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will serve as a direct continuation, and pick up after the events of Big Bang’s 2019 series finale.
As previously reported, Kevin Sussman (aka Stuart) will be joined on the show by fellow franchise vets Lauren Lapkus (Denise), Brian Posehn (Bert Kibbler) and John Ross Bowie (Barry Kripke) — a quartet that, with the exception of Sussman and Lapkus, rarely (if ever) interacted. And while plot details remain under wraps, we do know that Season 1 has already been written ahead of an official series order, and screenwriter Zak Penn — whose myriad credits include The Avengers, Ready Player One and Free Guy — wrote all 10 episodes with original series co-creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.
Earlier this week, Lorre let slip that Stuart Fails… will feature “a lot of CGI” — and that piece of intel, combined with the prospective series’ title, leads me to believe that this new show won’t be rooted in reality, per se. Instead, it will see the perpetually down-on-his-luck comic book store owner conceive of his own graphic novel centered on a B-team Justice League — a motley crew of underestimated superheroes who look a lot like Stuart, Denise, Bert and Kripke, and who all have started to believe what everyone else thinks of them: that they’re incapable of greatness. But all that will change once the future of humanity is called into question by an otherworldly threat, and the actual Justice League is preoccupied/unable to save the day. And perhaps Stuart will narrate, borrowing a narrative device from Young Sheldon (whose series finale revealed that Dr. Cooper was recounting his East Texas upbringing as part of his memoir).
So, that’s my working (Big Bang) theory! TVLine will keep you posted as we learn more about Stuart Fails to Save the Universe — and whether my prediction is right. But for now, leave a comment and let me know what sort of spinoff you’re anticipating.
