‘Stuart Fails To Save The Universe’: How ‘BBT’ Spinoff Came Together

The Big Bang Theory fans may owe a debt of gratitude for spinoff Stuart Fails To Save the Universe to the 2011 superhero series Alphas, which ran on Syfy for two years.

It has to do with the strange bedfellows team-up of The Big Bang Theory creators (and sitcom veterans) Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady with feature writer Zak Penn to create the offshoot. Penn does not have any TV comedy experience but he has a strong genre background, including in comic book-based features with his work on the X-Men, Hulk andThe Avengers movies.

Turns out his addition to the team of the proposed BBT spinoff, announced by HBO Max in early 2023 with Lorre at the helm, was crucial.

“We spent two years going around in circles during Covid, having really wonderful lunches together, but not really making any progress until we brought this guy in,” Lorre said, pointing to Penn. “He cracked it open, and we started writing.”

Penn’s only prior TV experience had been co-creating Syfy’s Alphas and creating Spectrum Originals’ Beacon 23.

“I was a big fan of Alphas, which I loved,” Lorre said. “I just loved that series, and so when I met Zak, I kind of went fanboy on his ass. I later learned about all his motion picture experience and credits, and so when it came time to try and discuss how to do Stuart Fails To Save the Universe in an action adventure genre, I called and said, ‘Can you help me?’”

“And I said ‘yes’ for a lot of reasons,” Penn added. “First of all, I felt like I owed Chuck one from the Alphas shoutout that he gave on Big Bang Theory, but also it was a really cool idea based on a beloved show.”

The Alphas shoutout came in the form of a main plot line in the Season 6, Episode 21 Big Bang episode, titled “The Closure Alternative,” in which Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) is devastated that Syfy had canceled the show on a cliffhanger and tries to get closure by finding out what would’ve happened. Additionally, Alphas star Ryan Cartwright guest starred on Big Bang earlier that season.

“I always try to do different things,” Penn continued. “I get kind of pegged for doing superhero stuff, but I’ve done a lot of different types of movies. I don’t think I would have said yes; if Chuck’d said, ‘Come help us create a spin-off sitcom, I would have been like, I’m going to be useless because it’s a different skill set. But based on what Chuck was pitching me and the scope of it, I thought, hey, I could actually be helpful here.” (You can watch the video below.)

Penn is not the only Alphas connection on Stuart Fails To Save the Universe. There are only a couple of major new characters on the offshoot not from the original series, and one of them is played by Cartwright.

And Penn also is not the only creator going outside of their comfort zone with Stuart Fails To Save the Universe.

“It’s hard work sitting and writing these things. It’s hard work, but this whole opportunity allowed for me to try things I’d never gotten an opportunity to try before, to try storytelling in ways I’ve never been able to do before, and also always, can it be funny?,” said Lorre, known for a slew of comedy hits, from Cybill andDharma & Greg to Two and a Half Men and the Big Bang Theory franchise. “There’s no reason to watch this if you’re yearning to see a dark drama, this will let you down. If you want to see a comedy with all the special effects and some of the R-rated elements and whatnot, if it’s truly funny, it’s it’s worth it’s worth giving it a try.”

As Lorre wrote in one of his vanity cards on the show, “Go Crazy or go home. I din’t go home.”