While the Big Bang Theory franchise continues to have a foothold on network television thanks to the Young Sheldon spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage on CBS (which can also be watched with a Paramount+ subscription), it’s also gearing up to deliver the delightfully kooky-sounding, CGI-packed Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. This show that will exclusively stream on HBO Max is bringing back a handful of supporting TBBT characters to take center stage, and now two more alums from the popular sitcom have come aboard. However, this time around, these actors will not be playing the same characters as before.
If you’re a longtime fan of The Big Bang Theory, you may recall Kevin Can Wait’s Ryan Cartwright and Silicon Valley’s Josh Brener making guest appearances. The former appeared in a Season 6 episode as Penny’s community college classmate, and the latter appeared in two episodes across Seasons 5 and 6 as Dale, who worked at Stuart’s comic book store. Well, for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, Cartwright will instead play Kyle, who is reportedly a comic book nerd and regular customer of the comic book store run by Kevin Sussman’s Stuart. Brener is reportedly playing someone named Trevor, but no details about him were revealed.
Additionally, Deadline has heard that Tommy Walker from the Nickelodeon series Danger Force will appear in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe as Gary, the “handsome” boyfriend of Lauren Lapkus’ Denise. Although Walker never appeared on The Big Bang Theory or any of the other spinoffs, he did cross paths with creator Chuck Lorre when he guest starred on the Netflix series The Kominsky Method. Cartwright, Brener and Walker will all recur on Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, while Sussman and Lapkus are joined in the main cast by Brian Posehn and John Ross Bowie, who are respectively reprising Bert and Barry Kripke.
It was first reported in 2023 that another Big Bang Theory offshoot was in the works, and by March 2025, the series’ title was unveiled. Then last month, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe officially scored a series order, and we learned that it will follow Start attempting to fix the universe after damaging it with a device created by Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper. This will trigger what’s described as a “multiverse armageddon,” and it’s been teased that this will pave the way for alternate versions of TBBT characters to appear.
In Ryan Cartwright, Josh Brener and Tommy Walker’s case, however, they’re now back in the franchise to play different roles, so we’ll have to wait and see how they mesh with these fan-favorites. It hasn’t been announced yet when Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, which Chuck Lorre co-created with The Avengers’ Zak Penn, will be released, but you’re always welcome to revisit The Big Bang Theory proper on HBO Max while we wait for that information and more updates.
