Collider spoke with creators Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn and Bill Prady about "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe", a Big Bang Theory spin-off centred on Kevin Sussman's comic book shop owner, Stuart Bloom. The 10-episode series marks a significant departure from the original sitcom's format, with each episode structured like its own standalone pilot as the story follows Stuart across a multiverse, making it notable for how radically it reshapes the franchise's usual formula.

The idea was first pitched around 12 years ago, during the last season of The Big Bang Theory, but was rejected at the time before interest resurfaced roughly a decade later. In the show, Stuart accidentally breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, triggering a multiversal crisis, and teams up with girlfriend Denise (Lauren Lapkus), friend Bert (Brian Posehn) and Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie) to fix it, encountering alternate-universe versions of familiar characters along the way. The series, filmed in Los Angeles with an opening title sequence composed by Danny Elfman, premieres on HBO Max.