Posted in: HBO, Max, TV | Tagged: stuart fails to save the universe, The Big Bang Theory

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Stars Discuss Stuart-Denise Dynamic

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe stars Kevin Sussman and Lauren Lapkus on staying true to Stuart and Denise - even in the apocalypse.

When Kevin Sussman's Stuart Bloom was introduced in CBS's The Big Bang Theory in season two, he not only provided the proper outlet for the series' main leads in Jim Parson's Sheldon, Johnny Galecki's Leonard, Simon Helberg's Howard, and Kunal Nayyar's Raj at their comic shop, he also became a lingering presence and recurring fan favorite with minimalist one-liners casting an empathetic light on the lonely comic book shop owner. As probably the most unlikely pitch and lead for a series, let alone a spinoff, it was TBBT creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, alongside Zak Penn, who gave him that platform to shine in the HBO Max interdimensional comedy Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.

It also didn't hurt that late in the series' run in season 11, Lauren Lapkus was introduced as Denise, who would work at Stuart's comic shop, showing genuine interest even as he remained clueless half the time about her feelings. While it was technically a loose end seeing the two finally move in together and dating around TBBT's end, Stuart will finally expand upon that relationship and joining them is Caltech geologist Bert (Brian Posehn) and plasma theorist and string theorist Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie) as they try to save the universe courtesy of Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard's interdimensional device to escape the post-apocalyptic Pasadena. Sussman and Lapkus spoke to Deadline about making the most of the opportunity on the underdog series.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Stars Kevin Sussman and Lauren Lapkus on Their Journey Back to a Very Different Big Bang Theory Universe

"I just want health insurance. I've always just wanted to work, so this was not on my bingo card," Sussman said about leading Stuart. "I was not expecting this." Added Lapkus, "I was so grateful to have joined the show in the last two seasons; it was really, really fun," she said of the mothership. "Shows end, and you just move on as an actor; you have to find your next job and get your insurance, as Kevin was saying. So I didn't expect it to come back around at all. And it's funny, like it never even crossed my mind. Even with the other spinoffs of 'Big Bang Theory,' I just was like, 'That's cool.' You just don't think it's going to happen for your character. It's really wild. So it was completely unexpected and very welcomed by me."

The Big Bang Theory spawned two more spinoffs in Parsons' Sheldon Cooper's world, starting with the prequel series Young Sheldon, and as the title implies, focuses on the character (Iain Armitage) before his Caltech days, living with his family in Medford, Texas. The current active spinoff, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, features largely the same characters sans Sheldon, but with stars Montana Jordan and Emily Osment) leading the way, reprising their roles as Georgie Cooper and Mandy McCallister, respectively, and YS stars making recurring appearances. As both spinoffs are on the same network as TBBT on CBS, they also deviated from the original show format without the studio audience and overemphasis on pop culture. HBO Max's Stuart looks to shift back, not back into the sitcom space, but back into the nerd pop culture setting with a sci-fi twist.

Sussman reminds fans that nothing really changes about Stuart, just the world around him that makes him do things. "Yeah, exactly. It parallels Stuart from the original show. He already is barely getting by in The Big Bang Theory, just trying to operate a successful comic book store, and he's always in a state of panic," he said. "And now the circumstances match his natural state of panic. So in a way, he's a reluctant hero; he doesn't want to be doing this, but in a certain way, he's been leading towards this. I think that's probably more profound than Chuck and Bill and Zak were even intending."

As far as the scene where alternate Stuart talks to Stuart Prime to help get the plot going, "From a character perspective, it wasn't that difficult because I just approached it as two different scenes; I learned them separately," Sussman said. "It was difficult technically, though, because either you're talking to just — there's no one there, or there's a stand-in or something like that. That was one of the many weird, special effects-type of things that I've never had to do before. So the technical aspect was difficult, but as an acting thing, it was actually fun."

Things, however, did change for Denise as she tried to survive her own way as Stuart was bunkered down in his comic shop. "It's a really fun way to get to reintroduce them because she's got this whole other life, and so does he," Lapkus said. "They've been on this crazy journey, just living in this terrible world. So when they come back together, I think they're both delighted to see each other, but they also have these separate journeys they're on, so they're not immediately like, 'Oh, we're gonna team-up.' I really liked that first scene that we have where we meet each other and get to have, like, 'Oh yeah, great to see you! Well, my life is insane, it literally is.'" Added Sussman, "It literally is like exes meeting at a party or something, and they've carried a flame for each other, except here there's giant moths flying overhead."

For more on Sussman and Lapkus explaining how the Stuart-Denise relationship picks up, and how Denise serves as the glue that keeps everything together, you can check out the rest of the interview. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe premieres on July 23rd on HBO Max with new episodes running Thursdays through September 24th.

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