At the height of its influence and at the peak of its powers, The Big Bang Theory on CBS was averaging between 18–20 million views per episode, which, had it been airing today, would be more than enough to make it one of the most-watched shows on TV. Over the course of nearly two decades, the traditional multi-camera sitcom crafted one of television’s biggest success stories. Following the lives of four socially awkward scientists living in California, The Big Bang Theory would grow into one of television’s biggest comedy franchises, as it spawned three major spin-offs.
First, prior to its original run on CBS ending in 2019, the franchise began looking to the future as Young Sheldon, a prequel which chronicled the childhood of The Big Bang Theory‘s breakout star, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), came to the fore in 2017. The success of that series led to its own spin-off series, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, which has aired two successful seasons so far. While we await news about that show’s next season, the Big Bang Theory franchise turns its attention to the upcomingproject that’s going to flip the franchise as we know it on its head. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is poised to take the franchise in a direction it has never gone before, as we take on a multiversal sci-fi adventure while setting aside the blissful apartment banter which made The Big Bang Theory iconic.
For this new adventure, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, shifts its focus from Sheldon, Leonard (Johnny Galicki), and the rest of their merry band and family to Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman), the often ridiculed owner of the comic shop the main cast members frequently visited during the original series’ run. The new show embraces science fiction wholeheartedly, doing so in a way the original series only ever referenced through conversations in Sheldon and Leonard’s apartment about comic books, Klingon in Star Trek, and other superhero movies and shows. The first episode of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will be released on HBO Max in just two weeks, arriving on July 23, with new episodes coming weekly until the Season 1 finale on September 24.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
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.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
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.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
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 don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
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.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Who Else Stars in ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’?
Co-created by The Big Bang Theory minds of Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, alongside The Avengers writer Zak Penn, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe leans hard into genre world-building even as it keeps the heart of the original sitcom at the center. Besides Sussman, Lauren Lapkus, who recently featured in episodes of The Morning Show and St. Denis Medical, will star in the upcoming spin-off as Denise. She played the character for eight episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Additional cast members for The Big Bang Theory spin-off include Brian Posehn as Bert Kibbler, John Ross Bowie as Barry Kripke, Louis Mustillo as Alexa, and Jascha Charron as Xena.
Just two weeks away, stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, which begins streaming on HBO Max later this month on July 23.
