Summary

Collider’s Steven Weintraub talks with the cast and creatives of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe at SDCC 2026.

The creators and cast discuss big swings, bold ambition, tricky shoots, and a Season 1 finale that will shock viewers.

The series is available to stream on HBO Max.

The Big Bang Theory made an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con this year, but not quite in the way you might expect. This year, creators Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady brought their new comedy series, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, to the fan convention to celebrate its HBO Max debut. According to Collider’s Greer Riddell, the spin-off is “charming, mind-bending, and gives life to The Big Bang Theory’s most overshadowed characters,” a few of whom editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub had the pleasure of sitting down with at our studio at SDCC this year. In the 10-episode show, Kevin Sussman reprises his role as comic book shop owner Stuart Bloom, who finds himself tasked with saving the multiverse after breaking Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard’s (Johnny Galecki) dimension-traveling device. Now, he’ll have to work together with his girlfriend, Denise (Lauren Lapkus), his geologist friend Bert (Brian Posehn), and “quantumphysicist/all-around pain in the ass.” Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie). Don’t miss our full conversation with the cast and creatives at Comic-Con, where Lorre, Penn, Prady, and Sussman, Lapkus, Posehn, and Bowie sit down to chat about how Stuart Fails to Save the Universe takes Big Bang Theory fans on an entirely new and unexpected ride, from start to finish. They discuss the spin-off’s biggest swings and ambition, the most challenging moments to capture on film, especially for a television show, and the cast’s reactions to the Season 1 finale (“there is just going to be a staggering amount of befuddled cursing across the viewership”).

You can check out the full conversation in the video above, with a time index provided below.

00:42 – The cast jokes about being “Punk’d” when Chuck Lorre called with the news.

01:32 – The cast discuss the show’s ambitious episodes.

02:09 – The creators discuss deciding which alternate universes and storylines to explore.

02:42 – The creators explain they built the season organically, letting each episode naturally lead to the next instead of mapping everything out in advance.

03:30 – Kevin Sussman constantly challenged the show’s quantum physics, prompting a timeline flowchart.

05:09 – The cast tease the strangest things they had to do for their episodes.

06:07 – The cast discuss performing elaborate wirework and stunts.

07:27 – Which storylines initially felt impossible to pull off?

08:44 – The cast predicts viewers will be shocked and immediately want more after the finale’s cliffhanger.

09:34 – Chuck Lorre teases the potential for Season 2.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is available to stream now on HBO Max.

Release Date

July 23, 2026

Network

HBO Max

Directors

Kyle Newacheck

Kevin Sussman

Stuart Bloom