‘Big Bang Theory’ Spinoff ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ Is a Playful, Creative Romp: TV Review

In a sea of perfunctory prequels and sequels, you have to hand it to a spinoff that actually comes up with a creative angle. Such is the case with “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe,” the third offshoot of “The Big Bang Theory,” which forms a useful contrast with its predecessors. The straightforwardly titled “Young Sheldon,” a single-camera sitcom that ran for seven seasons on CBS before ending in 2024, wound back the clock to trace the childhood of Jim Parsons’ breakout character as a prodigy in Texas; “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” airing its third season this fall, follows Sheldon’s older brother in his time as a broke newlywed.

Compared with such setups, which color within the lines of characters’ existing biographies, “Stuart Fails” takes a far more innovative approach. The HBO Max comedy — the first “Big Bang” spinoff to air on a streamer rather than on broadcast — does follow a figure from the juggernaut hit as he undertakes his own adventures. But Kevin Sussman’s titular comic book store owner doesn’t merely continue to tend to his small business in Pasadena, California. Instead, Stuart hopscotches through alternate dimensions in search of a way to undo a full-blown apocalypse. It’s a far cry from a few nerds trading one-liners in an apartment, and productively so.

To pull off this hard genre pivot, “Big Bang” co-creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady have brought on sci-fi veteran Zak Penn (“X-Men: The Last Stand”) as a collaborator. “Big Bang” was always adjacent to science, of course; its protagonists were physicists and biologists in the professional orbit of Caltech, even if the show itself was more easy viewing than intellectually rigorous. But science fiction is new terrain, and from its first moments, “Stuart Fails” takes infectious delight in sticking Stuart and “Big Bang” geologist Bert (Brian Posehn) in the middle of a “Fallout”-style hellscape, complete with steampunk outfits, zombies and giant flying moths. You see, a couple members of the original “Big Bang” crew accidentally triggered the end of the world through some quantum something-or-other, and an alternate version of Stuart beams in from another timeline to say he alone can fix it.

Stuart and Bert then secure the show’s driving MacGuffin, a machine that beams them into a new reality each episode, from “Big Bang” regular Kripke (John Ross Bowie) — here sporting the same Elmer Fudd-esque speech affect, but with a new day job as a bloodthirsty warlord. Stuart’s ex Denise (Lauren Lapkus) completes the central quartet, who serve as a grounding baseline while their surrounding environs vary wildly around them. One moment, they’re in a utopian society with no concept of private property; the next, they’re in a world where everything is basically normal, except people evolved from cows so they eat grass and chew cud. Sometimes the gang are magicians. Sometimes they’re centaurs.

The playful, clever tone of “Stuart Fails” is underscored by a Danny Elfman theme song and a credits sequence that constantly swaps in new, jokey title cards to discourage skipping. (Plus, a literal “do not skip” sign, with an arrow pointing directly at the button.) Run times as short as 15 minutes maintain a breezy feel, and the distance of “Stuart Fails” from the original concept of “Big Bang” ironically makes it easier for familiar faces to drop in. I’m forbidden from disclosing which “Big Bang” stars outside the main cast of “Stuart Fails” make an appearance, but those who do can stop by for as few or as many cameos as they want, often while playing completely different people. One timeline’s scientist, it turns out, can be another’s horned demon. Of course, the constant change endemic to “Stuart Fails” means sacrificing some of the comforting sameness of a “Big Bang”-style hangout. But the comic chemistry among the main players provides just enough — and besides, the thrilling potential of a constantly wiped slate is worth the trade.