Posted in: HBO, Max, TV | Tagged: stuart fails to save the universe, The Big Bang Theory
Stuart Creator on Bernadette's "Sliding Doors" Moment, Rauch/S02 Tease
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe co-creator Chuck Lorre and The Big Bang Theory alum Melissa Rauch discuss her second return as Bernadette.
Article Summary
- Stuart Fails to Save the Universe brings Melissa Rauch back twice, with Bernadette returning in wildly different forms.
- Chuck Lorre says Bernadette’s latest Stuart Fails to Save the Universe turn hinges on a clear Sliding Doors twist.
- Rauch reveals Chuck Lorre first pitched the dance-teacher Bernadette, and she filmed that role before her witch turn.
- Melissa Rauch teases she’d gladly return to Stuart Fails to Save the Universe as more alternate Bernadette variants.
Any time you can get an original cast member back into he fold on a spinoff, it's always a bonus, and in the case of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, we've already had appearances by multiple The Big Bang Theory alum with Kunal Nayyar (Raj), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Melissa Rauch (Bernadette), and Mayim Bialik (Amy) in separate episodes since they never appear together. In the cases of Nayyar and Rauch, they have already made their second appearances. Rauch, who originally played a demonic version of her counterpart who grows to building size thanks to a potion in the episode "Spoiler: Bert Is Magic," and most recently, in "Spoiler: Dexys Midnight Runners Get a Royalty Payment," where she plays a version where she's teaching dance to a young class at a strip mall as Stuart (Kevin Sussman), Denise (Lauren Lapkus) Bert (Brian Posehn) and Kripke (John Ross Bowie) meet up to try to find her prime universe hubby, Howard (Simon Helberg). Co-creator Chuck Lorre and Rauch spoke to TV Line about the Easter eggs fans of TBBT would know,

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Creator Chuck Lorre and Guest Star Melissa Rauch on Bernadette's "Sliding Doors" Moment and Her Pageantry Past
"There's a 'Sliding Doors' element here where you take one turn early on, and you have an entirely different life," Lorre said, alluding to the TBBT season 8 episode where Bernadette revealed she once competed for the title of Miss California Quiznos 1999. "We knew that about Bernadette going in, that that was her childhood. So, what would happen if her childhood went beyond 10 years old tap dancing?" After talking to her, the group partake in subs from the sandwich chain.
"When Chuck originally called and told me about the show and asked if I would be interested in doing it, that was actually the character that he pitched as an idea that they were throwing around," Rauch said while confirming she shot 107 first before her scene as a witch in 103. "He said that we would be coming back as our characters, but a different version of them and getting to play something wildly different from what we had in the past…That was so exciting to me. I was thrilled to see that we ended up getting to do that. Getting to play two very different versions of Bernadette was really cool."

As far as the Night Court star's future in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe with the renewal announcement, "I think it's so wonderful and such an incredible story generator, this world that they've created, where you have these endless possibilities of endless variations of these characters," she said. "I would be thrilled to come back as different versions of Bernadette, for sure." For more, including how Poshen and Bowie break down how it took three days to film their doppelgangers, you can check out the entire interview. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe streams Thursdays on HBO Max.














