No, HBO Max has stepped in today and given an official renewal notice to Stuart, which stars Kevin Sussman as a version of his hapless comic book store owner, forced to bounce between realities in an effort to save a multiverse built from a collection of pretty stock genre ideas staffed by whichever original Big Bang star they could get to hang out on set for a week. (Most recently, a Matrix riff featuring the return of Mayim Bialik to the franchise that helped de-Blossom-ify her.) Co-starring Lauren Lapkus, Brian Posehn, and John Ross Bowie’s best Elmer Fudd impression, the series has represented a pretty huge departure from the BBT spin-off formula, trading more prosaic, family-based questions (“What if a Sheldon was Young?”) for something a lot more eye-catching and action-packed than your average TV sitcom.
HBO Max is pretty clearly pretty happy with the result, with executive Amy Gravitt praising creators Lorre, Bill Prady, and Zak Penn for the show’s success. “We’re delighted with how this hilarious, genre-bending show from Chuck, Zak, and Bill has connected with the audience, both devotees of The Big Bang Theory and new fans alike,” Gravitt said in a statement. “Along with everyone else, we can’t wait to see the worlds they conjure for these beloved characters next season.” Which, fair enough: The series has been getting decent amounts of buzz, and even some pretty strong critical notices, by sending Stuart and his pals through its various universes; since actually saving the universe would presumably mean ending the show—and Warner Bros. has a lot more sci-fi brands for Sussman to flop sweat his way around—we have to assume that there’s still plenty more failure on the way.
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