Big Bang Theory Spinoff Ordered At HBO Max — Here's How Sheldon And Leonard Factor Into Stuart Fails To Save The Universe

More than two years after HBO Max announced that Chuck Lorre was developing a new show "derived from" The Big Bang Theory, the streaming service has handed a series order to single-camera comedy Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.

The official pickup, which was announced Wednesday, comes with an incredibly intriguing synopsis that paves the way for Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons and the rest of the original cast to theoretically... one day... possibly return:

Comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon. Stuart is aided in this quest by his girlfriend Denise (Lauren Lapkus), geologist friend Bert (Brian Posehn) and quantum physicist/all-around pain in the ass Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie). Along the way, they meet alternate-universe versions of characters we've come to know and love from The Big Bang Theory. As the title implies, things don't go well.  

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe hails from original series creators Lorre and Bill Prady, who created the spinoff with feature writer Zak Penn (The Avengers, Ready Player One, Free Guy). As of press time, only Sussman, Lapkus, Posehn and Bowie are confirmed to reprise their Big Bang roles — though Kaley Cuoco, Mayim Bialik and Parsons have not ruled out guest appearances. (Cuoco, Bialik, Parsons and Simon Helberg all made cameos on Young Sheldon.)

"I wanted to do something radical that would take me out of my comfort zone," Lorre said in a statement Wednesday. "Something the characters on The Big Bang Theory would have loved, hated, and argued about."

Added Prady: "The process of writing this show with Chuck and Zak has been damn fun, and I'm certain that joy will come through the screen. Putting characters we loved from The Big Bang Theory into a complex science fiction story with the kind of mythology that those characters love while maintaining the comedic elements is incredibly satisfying."

Penn, meanwhile, got creative with his statement, which reads as follows: "I was on a vision quest in the most remote parts of the Amazon Rainforest when a carrier pigeon arrived with a note from Chuck Lorre asking if I wanted to help make a show that the characters from Big Bang Theory would watch. I couldn't resist that idea, so I packed up my yurt and hailed the next dirigible out. At the same time, Chuck sent an expedition to locate Bill Prady, who had been frozen with his shield across his chest in a block of arctic ice. The team assembled, we set out to make this insane show, which lives in a universe created by Chuck and Bill. I couldn't be more honored to be working with these amazing people."

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe marks the fourth entry in the TBBT franchise, following Big Bang (2007-2019), prequel series Young Sheldon (2017-2024), and sequel-to-the-prequel Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage (2024-). It will be the first offshoot whose story picks up after the events of Big Bang's series finale.

Neither an episode count nor a release date have been confirmed, but TVLine will keep you posted as we learn more. In the meantime, hit the comments and let us know if you're suddenly intrigued by the prospect of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.