One of TV’s wackiest and most innovative spinoffs recently debuted, and Stuart Fails to Save the Universe didn’t fail to win over most critics with its apocalypse-dodging multiversal adventures. Centering on former comic book shop staffer Kevin Sussman’s comic shop-owning Stuart — a comparison point that still blows Sussman’s mind — the new show shed the live audience for its zany (and more R-rated) storytelling, and the differences certainly don’t stop there.
As explained by Sussman and co-stars John Ross Bowie and Brian Posehn, the streaming series (available via HBO Max subscription) was a bit more of a physical endeavor for the actors, who were not at all accustomed to such kinetic acting during the Big Bang Theory’s run. Speaking with Etalk in an interview clip shared to Instagram, Bowie addressed how Stuart quickly set itself apart from the flagship sitcom, saying:
We did more running in the first episode of this show than we did in 12 seasons of Big Bang.
It's a funny thing to hear a TV comedy actor talk about running on the set, since that's a specific kind of normal behavior that isn't often shown in traditional sitcoms, given the size and nature of sets within soundstages. Especially for a show like The Big Bang Theory, where the majority of the locations were apartments, Stuart's comic shop, the Caltech cafeteria, and other fairly limited-in-scope settings. Not the kind of place where characters are able to run around for longer than a second or two.
But Stuart Fails to Save the Universe opens up this franchise to a variety of new and different spots (and timelines) that do allow the characters to put feet to pavement with more regularity. Not to mention the fact that there are also threats in the show's alt-universes that require the main characters to dash off.
According to Brian Posehn, however, that uptick in exertion was not part of the sales pitch from co-creator Chuck Lorre. As he put it:
No preparation. Chuck never said, ‘Hey, you guys are gonna be running a lot.’
I guess "running" wouldn't count towards any kind of stuntwork or any other distinction that would require Chuck Lorre or the other co-creators to say, "Hey, guys. You'll probably want to stretch as soon as you get to the set tomorrow morning."
Even if there were moments during The Big Bang Theory where the leads were invested in some kind of emergency and had to run from one spot to the next, those scenes were not made to incorporate the side characters. To that end, Posehn amusingly shared:
Bert never ran in the old show. I just show up, ‘Hey guys,’ walk in…
Not a lot of out-of-breath conversations between Bert and his buddies, that's for sure.
Speaking of things that Stuart does that weren't possible on Big Bang — SPOILERS FOR ANYONE WHO DIDN'T WATCH THE PREMIERE YET — killing off OG characters like Kunal Nayyar's Raj, or at least alternate versions of OG characters. The bearded and half-insane Raj that showed up in the premiere isn't the same charmer that fans got to know in the mothership sitcom, a fact that certainly helped make his death easier to accept.
Considering how those crossovers are being handled, we're also intrigued to see if Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will cross over with fellow spinoff Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage, or if it could even technically jump back in time to touch base with some Young Sheldon characters. Hell, if the premiere could feature prior cameo-makers Penn & Teller, with the latter previously portraying Amy's father Larry Fowler opposite Kathy Bates as Mrs. Fowler. Does that mean there two Teller-looking dudes in every universe?
