The Big Bang Theory has long held my fascination as a show with enduring and palpable interest from fans. So, of course, I’ve been paying attention to the upcoming spinoff Stuart Fails To Save The Universe, or at least I thought I was, as Kevin Sussman and co. wrapped filming and started promoting the series. Only, somehow I completely missed the boat on one big detail, and I don’t really know how to feel about it.
So far, the Chuck Lorre Universe that spawned characters like Sheldon Cooper has had two spinoffs: Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage. All three shows, the third of which is The Big Bang Theory itself, have aired in a traditional network TV format. In fact, all three have specifically aired on the TV schedule on CBS proper.
That’s not what’s happening with Stuart Fails To Save The Universe. Instead of airing on the Eye Network, it’s going to be available for those with an HBO Max subscription. I only just became aware of this when HBO Max dropped the show's July 23rd release on a poster and dangled it in front of my face.
Now, this is hardly a secret. In fact, I’ve been roasted by some of my peers here at CinemaBlend for not making this connection, and rightfully so. Still, now that I am clued in, I think we need to be talking about how the move does have implications, both positive and negative. First and foremost, you can do a lot more when you are on a streaming service. Runtimes don’t need to fall into a narrow box, nor are there network censors worried about certain language choices and more. There’s more freedom, both from a creative standpoint, but also simply from the lack of structure network TV requires.
Now for the bad part? The siloing of the show is not great. It means ideas that have oft been bandied about, like a Georgie and Mandy spinoff, are less likely to happen than they might if everything was tied together on one network. It means not everyone who has access to the shows on CBS will have access to HBO Max. The audience could become more segmented.
I’ve seen the mind-bending trailer for Stuart Fails To Save The Universe (and yes I see it says a Max original all over the trailer, but again, we've already established it totally went over my head before.) Basically, I did know the tone of this was going to feel different than a laugh track-based sitcom, and that’s probably a good thing. It’s better for the franchise to move forward and try something new than to remain stagnant, but it still marks the end of an era for the franchise, and I don't fully know how to feel.
Still, we also know the show has a ton of Big Bang Theory crossover, from returning characters to references in Season 1. There should be something for everyone in Stuart Fails To Save The Universe… provided you have HBO Max.
