The Big Bang Theory fans are kicking up a bit of a stink following the announcement of a spinoff series focussed on perhaps the last character they would’ve expected.
The upcoming show, which will land on HBO Max, is titled Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, so it doesn’t take a theoretical physicist like Jim Parsons‘ Sheldon to deduce who’ll be leading the charge.
That’s right, even though Mayim Bialik’s Amy Farrah Fowler is right there, CBS — the production company behind the original Big Bang Theory — has decided to move ahead with a spinoff based around Stuart Bloom, the comic book shop owner played by Kevin Sussman.
If that name sounds a little unfamiliar, that’s because Stuart was only a minor character throughout Big Bang Theory’s original 12-season run, with his biggest claim to fame being a few brief dates with Penny.
Granted, bagging Kaley Cuoco, however briefly, is no small feat, and while Stuart took on a more central role in the show’s later seasons, the ample other choices for showrunners to choose from (can I get a moment for Leslie Winkle?) has left some fans puzzled by the news of a spinoff.
“This could either be really good or a disaster,” one fan wrote on Reddit in response to the news, with another adding that “Stuart was rarely the fan favorite from the show and the least appreciated character”.
Despite fans’ hesitations, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is, much like the trains Sheldon obsesses over, moving full steam ahead.
Alongside Sussman, the spinoff has cast fellow minor characters from the original, like Lauren Lapkus as Denise, Brian Posehn as Bert, and John Ross Bowie as Barry Kripke.
With the exception of Kripke, I’m about as familiar with those other characters as Sheldon’s apartment is with a functioning elevator.
It’s not yet known whether the original core castmates — including Parsons, Cuoco, Bialik, and everyone else who ate takeout in the show’s title sequence — will return for the spinoff, but they certainly made enough from the show to abandon science altogether.
Stuart Saves the Universe will add to Big Bang Theory’s broader television universe, with Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage both taking place before the events of the original show.
We’ll have to wait and see whether Stuart can lead his spinoff to success, but in the meantime, I can only offer a half-hearted… Banzinga?
Lead image: CBS/Reddit
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