Stuart Fails to Save the Universe: the Big Bang Theory spin-off we weren’t expecting (review)
Against all expectations, the new series transforms Stuart Bloom into the hero of a crazy, inventive and absolutely delightful SF adventure. Yes, we said Stuart.
Forget Young Sheldon.
With Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, HBO Max takes The Big Bang Theory franchise on the wrong foot. No more family chronicles or everyday sitcoms: this third spin-off dives squarely into science fiction, parallel universes and multiverse chaos. A crazy idea to exploit the vein of nostalgia? There’s a bit of that, obviously. But it works surprisingly well!
The starting point is as absurd as it is effective: Stuart Bloom, the owner of the comic book store, accidentally causes a multiverse catastrophe by getting his hands on an invention of Sheldon and Leonard. To try to save the universe, he takes with him his girlfriend Denise, the geologist Bert and the physicist Barry Kripke.
On paper, it’s difficult to make it less of a seller. Stuart, Denise, Bert and Kripke were all four of the (very) dispensable supporting cast of The Big Bang Theory, barely sympathetic characters, destined to plug the holes in the scripts. But they completely reveal themselves in the new series: Stuart becomes endearing, Kripke is almost funny, Denise has things to say, and even Bert is interesting (you have to see him to believe him)!
To achieve this 180-degree turn, the original creators of TBBT, Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, surrounded themselves with Zak Penn (X-Men: The Last Stand), a regular in science fiction. And this is evident from the first minutes. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe has fun sending its characters into totally different crazy worlds, from a post-apocalyptic Fallout-style universe to a world where humans are descended from cows or even a universe where magic has taken the place of science… Meetings with alternative versions of cult characters from The Big Bang Theory are obviously part of the journey (we’re not allowed to say who, but there are really a lot of them)!
Where the series surprises the most is that it never seeks to remake The Big Bang Theory. The references are numerous, but above all they serve this new adventure. Nothing that happens here changes the original sitcom. This spin-off fully embraces its identity and prefers to explore the codes of science fiction rather than replaying old recipes. And that changes everything. With its HBO stamp, the series displays a much more ambitious achievement than that of a traditional sitcom. The special effects are solid, the settings varied, there are deaths, a few well-placed “fucks” and real visual energy. Like its wonderful opening credits by Danny Elfman, full of clever winks, which constantly change to discourage spectators from skipping the introduction.
With episodes lasting around twenty minutes, the pace never weakens. Funny, inventive and surprisingly generous, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is an excellent surprise. It is undoubtedly not intended to last 279 episodes like its illustrious predecessor. But she succeeds in the essential: existing on her own. And we’re already ready to dive back in with Stuart for the rest. We never imagined we would say that one day…
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, to watch on HBO Max in France from Friday July 24, 2026
