HBO Max’s New Show Is “X-Men For F***-Ups”

“X-Men for f***-ups” arrives in HBO Max’s new show.

While the X-Men are part of Marvel, HBO Max is the streaming home for DC shows. This includes Peacemaker, The Penguin, Creature Commandos, Harley Quinn, My Adventures with Superman, and the upcoming Lanterns. Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, and Lanterns are all part of the new DC Universe being overseen by James Gunn.

Instead of a DC show, it’s HBO Max’s Stuart Fails to Save the Universe that is being compared to the X-Men. While it is part of The Big Bang Theory franchise, the spinoff is going in a different direction than any of its predecessors, with a science-fiction story revolving around Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman), Bert Kibbler (Brian Posehn), Denise (Lauren Lapkus), and Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie) working to save the broken multiverse.

In an interview with TV Insider, Bowie was asked why these four specific characters from The Big Bang Theory were assembled as opposed to any other combination. The actor believes that it is because of their unique chemistry and skill sets, which are physics for Kripke, geology for Bert, and comic books for Stuart and Denise. He describes the team as being akin to “X-Men for f***-ups.” Check out his comments below:

I think that’s a really good question. I think the chemistry of these four characters and their diverse skill sets. Kevin and Lauren are the big comic book nerds; Bert’s specialty is geology; Kripke is physics. It’s sort of the X-Men for f**k-ups.

There’s something very liberating about this particular set of skills working together that I think people will enjoy. Also, I mean, the proof is in the pudding. We had a lot of fun working together, and not that anyone you just mentioned wouldn’t have been a total blast to work with as well… and I can’t say who or who isn’t coming back.

While the Stuart Fails to Save the Universe characters are humans and not mutants, they all have their own “powers” that make for an effective team. As impressive as the X-Men can seem on the surface, they also come with their own baggage and are “f***-ups” at times, providing further parallels to Bowie’s remarks.

It is a colossal mistake that sets off The Big Bang Theory spinoff’s story, as Stuart accidentally breaks a quantum device designed by Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki). This upends the multiverse and sets him on the path to fix his mistake, which requires the help of Bert, Denise, and Kripke.

While the focus is on these four characters, along with some alternate versions of them appearing across the multiverse, there is potential for other The Big Bang Theory characters to also appear, as hinted at by Bowie. The science-fiction premise means that it doesn’t even need to be the same versions of the characters from the original sitcom, with the actors potentially playing a variant from another universe.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is the fourth show in the franchise and the third spinoff. The Big Bang Theory ran for 12 seasons, and during its run, the spinoff Young Sheldon started and lasted for seven seasons. Young Sheldon was followed by Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, which is entering its third season. All of these series have aired on CBS, which means the new show is also breaking new ground by being the first to release elsewhere and specifically via HBO Max.

Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, co-creators of The Big Bang Theory, created Stuart Fails to Save the Universe alongside Zak Penn. With 10 episodes and a weekly release model, the series will end up overlapping with the DCU’s Lanterns, which debuts on August 16.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe premieres on July 23 on HBO Max.

Release Date

July 23, 2026

Network

HBO Max

Directors

Kyle Newacheck