Kevin Sussman Says Stuart Fails To Save The Universe Gives The Big Bang Theory Underdog A Second Chance

When TVLine first visited the set of "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe" in December, one thing became immediately clear: Stuart Bloom's days languishing behind the counter at the Comic Center of Pasadena are over.

As we pull up to the Santa Clarita shoot, all we know about the show is what HBO Max's official logline has revealed: Stuart (Kevin Sussman) is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Johnny Galecki's Leonard Hofstadter and Jim Parsons' Sheldon Cooper, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon.

Even armed with that knowledge, nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to witness. We're warned there may be a few live explosions throughout the day. Sure enough, inside video village, we watch on a monitor as Sussman — joined by fellow "Big Bang Theory" alumni Lauren Lapkus, Brian Posehn, and John Ross Bowie, reprising Denise, Bert, and Barry Kripke, respectively — seemingly teleport into the middle of a firefight as soldiers in Army fatigues continue battling all around the bewildered quartet, who would rather be anywhere but here.

Meanwhile, executive producers Bill Prady and Zak Penn — who co-created the offshoot with Chuck Lorre — huddle with director and fellow EP Kyle Newacheck, debating just how big the gang's reaction to their hostile surroundings should be.

It's a fitting introduction to a series that transforms Stuart from longtime supporting player into one of the show's four central figures — a shift that has allowed Sussman to explore sides of the character that simply never existed during the original sitcom's 12-season run on CBS.

"Stuart is more of a hero, albeit a reluctant hero," the actor tells TVLine. He laughs at the thought, then adds, "It's interesting to see how Stuart would act when he is pushed to take a leadership position, which is odd to even say."

Sussman's path into the "Big Bang Theory" Cinematic Universe was anything but straightforward. The actor was among those who auditioned for the part of Leonard in the sitcom's original, unaired 2006 pilot (as was future co-star Bowie, who read for the role twice).

When CBS ordered a retooled pilot the following year, Lorre and Prady instead developed the role of Howard Wolowitz with Sussman in mind. Sussman ultimately landed the part, but ABC declined to release him from his contract on "Ugly Betty," where he recurred as Walter, the on-again, off-again boyfriend of America Ferrera's Betty Suarez, throughout Season 1. Instead, the role of Howard went to Simon Helberg.

It wasn't until Season 2 that Sussman finally joined the multi-cam as Stuart Bloom, a struggling comic book store owner who started out as a confident romantic prospect for Penny before spiraling into perhaps the series' unluckiest character.

"As the seasons went on, the other characters started to develop as people, get into normal relationships, and advance in their careers," Sussman recalls. "As their trajectory was going up, Stuart was devolving, and his situation was getting worse — to the point where, at one point, the comic book store burns down, and a big chunk of the ceiling falls right next to him. He looks at it and he's like, 'That could have killed me. [Pauses] I can't catch a break.'"

Though there was buzz about a possible spin-off in 2019, no concrete plans ever materialized. Then came the pandemic. As Hollywood slowly returned to work, so did Sussman, who appeared in the acclaimed dramas "Better Call Saul," "The Dropout," and "Lessons in Chemistry," while also reuniting with Mayim Bialik on "Call Me Kat."

Four years removed from the mothership's series finale, he certainly wasn't expecting to get his own show — let alone an invitation to Chuck Lorre's office.

Then the phone rang.

"Chuck called me into his office and said, 'Do you know why you're here?' And I had no idea," Sussman recalls. "He said, 'I want to do a spin-off called "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe," which is a multiverse-type show, and we would have some of the original characters appear, but they wouldn't be who they were in the original show,' and he asked me if I would be interested in something like that." The actor pauses and deadpans, "And I was like, 'Well, let me check my calendar....'"

Just as importantly, Sussman was pleased to learn the spin-off wasn't simply trying to recreate "The Big Bang Theory."

"It's not comparable to the original show," he says. "There's no need to deal with comparisons to the original because it's so different. It still has that Chuck Lorre DNA with the comedy, but it is definitely a different genre altogether."

We ask Sussman if the title — which was already in place by the time Lorre made his pitch — was part of the appeal, not so much because his character's name was at the front of it, but because of what it represented.

"Absolutely," he says. "Whatever the show was going to be, just having Chuck Lorre call you into his office and say he wants to do a show based around your character is a selling point, you know?"

For much of "The Big Bang Theory," Stuart watched life happen to everyone else. "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe" finally forces him to take the lead.

Asked if the spin-off allows Stuart to rediscover some of the confidence he displayed early in the original series, Sussman doesn't hesitate.

"Absolutely," he answers. "But not by choice. He's thrust into this situation, and like all reluctant heroes, he tries to get out of it. He doesn't want to do it, but he has no choice."

The expanded scope of the series also allows the show to pick up where Stuart's personal life left off.

"At the very, very end of the run, he meets Denise, and things just started to get going. His life was just getting good again — and then, of course, the show stopped," Sussman says. "They only touched on the romantic aspect of Stuart and Denise in the original show, and now it's much more multi-dimensional, so there's a lot of good, fun stuff there. We knew they were lovers — what a weird thing to say — in 'The Big Bang Theory,' but here they really explore [the full range of] their dynamic."

For Sussman, it's all part of giving Stuart dimensions the original series never had the bandwidth to explore.

"It definitely is cool to have a new beginning, where Stuart is becoming more of all of the things that he lacked in the original," he says. "So it's awesome to be able to follow that storyline... although in the craziest way possible."

"Stuart Fails to Save the Universe" premieres Thursday, July 23 at 9 p.m. on HBO Max.