Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Jul 22

THR Calls 10-Episode Stuart Fails to Save the Universe a Skippable Big Bang Spinoff

Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Jul 22

THR Calls 10-Episode Stuart Fails to Save the Universe a Skippable Big Bang Spinoff

Q: Has hitmaker Chuck Lorre finally created a franchise-killing flop?

Not yet. “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” looks like a critical misfire, but there is no solid evidence that it has damaged — much less killed — the broader “Big Bang Theory” franchise. The immediate problem is reception. Reviews were largely negative, calling the Max spinoff “slapdash,” “sour,” “hollow,” and “skippable.” Critics objected to its repetitive structure, weak visual effects, cameo dependence, and what one review described as an “indifference to people,” especially in its treatment of gender dynamics and the Stuart-Denise romance. That makes it a bad launch for a franchise extension and a rare stumble for Chuck Lorre. But “franchise-killing” is a much bigger claim than “badly reviewed.” The available evidence points the other way. “The Big Bang Theory” remains a strong streaming title in 2026, and the franchise has already survived tonal shifts through “Young Sheldon” and other offshoots. There were also a few more favorable notices for “Stuart,” praising its ambition, multiverse premise, and willingness to reinvent the formula. What can be said now is narrower: Lorre appears to have produced a spinoff that many critics found disappointing, and possibly one of the weakest entries tied to the “Big Bang” brand. Whether it is a flop in business terms will depend on audience data, completion rates, and renewal decisions, none of which are established here. For now, it is better described as a critical dud than a franchise killer.

3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Jul 22

THR says the 10-episode HBO Max series is only occasionally amusing, faulting it as slapdash, sour and too reliant on cameos to carry Kevin Sussman’s Stuart Bloom.
The review says the multiverse premise starts with a post-apocalyptic Pasadena and a broken quantum machine, but most 22-minute episodes repeat the same jump-fight-flee structure instead of building inventive sci-fi stakes.
Kevin Sussman’s performance earns praise for giving Stuart a believable arc from self-doubting misfit to reluctant hero, with Lauren Lapkus also helping sell the central relationship.
That goodwill is undercut, THR argues, by the show’s indifference to the worlds Stuart saves and by its treatment of women—especially Denise—as prizes rather than fully realized characters.
The review concludes the Chuck Lorre-created Big Bang Theory offshoot cares less about saving a universe than about validating Stuart himself, limiting hopes for a stronger second season.