The Big Bang Theory remains one of television's biggest success stories. During its original run on CBS, it drew incredible ratings and even won seven Emmys. In addition to becoming a sitcom juggernaut, The Big Bang Theory is now a major television franchise thanks to three spinoff series. First up was Young Sheldon, which chronicled the childhood of The Big Bang Theory's breakout star, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons); that series's success led to its own spinoff series, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. The upcoming Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will radically shake up what fans have come to expect from the world of The Big Bang Theory, thanks to its unique premise.
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe shifts its focus from Sheldon, Leonard (Johnny Galicki), and the rest of their friends and family to Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman), whose comic shop the main cast members frequently visited. When Stuart accidentally breaks a device that Leonard and Sheldon developed, it shatters the walls of time and space, forcing him to go on a quest throughout alternate universes to fix it. While this kind of universe-hopping chaos sounds like it belongs in a massive sci-fi blockbuster rather than the spin-off for a beloved comedy series, this approach just might be what The Big Bang Theory needs to stay fresh.
It's no secret to anyone who watched The Big Bang Theory that the series heavily featured different pop culture franchises, and wasn't above mocking them. When the gang dresses as the Justice League for Halloween, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) complains about how uncool it is to be Aquaman. Star Trek alum Wil Wheaton frequently appeared, often serving as Sheldon's archenemy before becoming his friend. Leonard and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) hit a bump in their relationship when she doesn't show the same appreciation for Buffy the Vampire Slayer as he does. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is shifting gears by leaping across genres, as the official trailer showcases Stuart and his allies traveling to different worlds and encountering versions of themselves with superpowers or post-apocalyptic outfits. In other words, it's turning The Big Bang Theory's punchlines into actual plot lines.
Part of what makes this shift so significant is that it was intentionally baked into the series from the start. While discussing the genesis of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, co-creator Chuck Lorre said he wanted to make a show radically different from the sitcoms that defined his career.
"I just wanted to do something that challenged me, that I was uncomfortable and in unfamiliar territory and the special effects stuff, the computer graphics, all those things...Most of my career has been two people sit on a couch and talk."
Lorre also has a secret weapon to make Stuart Fails to Save the Universe's genre shift work in co-creator Zak Penn. Penn's no stranger to science fiction or major pop culture franchises, having penned scripts for blockbusters including Free Guy and X2: X-Men United. Add in the fact that Lorre is reuniting with The Big Bang Theory co-creator Bill Prady, and it looks like Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will keep the same humor that defined The Big Bang Theory while also pushing the franchise in a new direction.
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.
The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.
You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe won't just be a major genre shift for The Big Bang Theory franchise. It's also the first spinoff series that isn't a prequel, which means it's the first time fans will get to see what certain characters have been up to after The Big Bang Theory's ending. It'll also be the first series not to focus on Sheldon Cooper or his immediate family, as the rest of the cast includes other Big Bang Theory recurring characters, such as geologist Bert Kibbler (Brian Posehn) and arrogant physicist Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie).
While Chuck Lorre said that he feels Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will be either "revered or reviled" by audiences, it's actually willing to take a chance and branch out of its comfort zone. In a day and age where most franchises fail to follow through on big swings or rely on nostalgia plays, that's the energy more creators need.
