HBO Max has released the first official images from its upcoming Big Bang Theory spinoff, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, starring Kevin Sussman as the beleaguered comic book store owner.
The photos, published April 27, show Stuart Bloom (Sussman) alongside his girlfriend Denise (Lauren Lapkus), geologist Bert (Brian Posehn), and physicist Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie) as they are flung from Pasadena into other dimensions—including a tropical paradise and a war-torn battlefield. The series picks up after Stuart accidentally breaks a device built by Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki), triggering a multiverse Armageddon. His crew must help him restore reality while encountering alternate-universe versions of familiar characters.
As the logline warns, “As the title implies, things don’t go well.”
Despite the involvement of Parsons’ and Galecki’s characters in the premise, Parsons has clarified he will not reprise Sheldon. “I don’t believe I would do a reboot,” he said on The View April 17. “I can’t say I miss him… but there’s a lot of me in that. Not the genius part.” Still, he added, “It’s always really sweet” when fans approach him about the role.
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe premieres July 2026 on HBO Max.