Big Bang Theory Spinoff: Cast Preps Scripts Before Max Greenlight!

The anticipated spinoff of The Big Bang Theory, currently under the working title Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, has made another significant stride toward becoming a full-fledged series on Max. This update follows the latest gathering of the show’s principal cast at Warner Bros. Studios on March 24, as initially reported by Deadline last week.

John Ross Bowie, who will return as his character Barry Kripke from Big Bang, shared the moment on Instagram with a caption that read, “And so it begins …,”. He was joined by fellow series veterans Kevin Sussman (Stuart Bloom), Lauren Lapkus (Denise), and Brian Posehn (Bert Kibbler), and he included the hashtags #sftsu and #tbbt.

Despite the appearance of a “SFTSU Table Read” sign in Bowie’s pictures, sources indicate that this gathering did not constitute an official table read as authorized by Max or Warner Bros. Television, which would suggest that the project had received the green light.

Watch on Deadline

The assembly was instead an opportunity for the actors to review two completed scripts, crafted by Chuck Lorre—who has served as co-creator and executive producer for Big Bang and its spinoffs—alongside Zak Penn and Bill Prady, also a co-creator of Big Bang. It’s believed that Lorre orchestrated this informal read-through to refine the scripts further before their final submission to Max for potential series approval.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is a production of Chuck Lorre Productions in partnership with Warner Bros. Television. Lorre, along with Penn and Prady, are on board as executive producers. While the series has yet to receive an official go-ahead, Sussman, Lapkus, Posehn, and Bowie are all tentatively linked to star, contingent on the show’s eventual pickup. They currently have talent holding deals with WBTV for this purpose.