The Big Bang Theory's New Spinoff Sets a New Rotten Tomatoes Record - Canada News Beep

The Big Bang Theory has just expanded again. After the original series, which wrapped in 2019 after 12 seasons, it has just received its first spinoff sequel with Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.

The comedy sitcom had previously received two spinoff prequels around main character Sheldon Cooper, Young Sheldon and its follow-up, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is the first one to introduce characters from the flagship show. The show just premiered on HBO Max, and Stuart Fails to Save the Universe set a new Rotten Tomatoes record as the lowest-rated show in the franchise yet.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe & Impress Critics

The new series just debuted, and, while it did earn enough positive reviews for a 72% approval score, which is just 3% below the Certified Fresh threshold, it’s also the lowest entry in the franchise so far overall. Here’s why that’s not a big deal.

If Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is compared to other first seasons in the franchise, The Big Bang Theory Season 1 features a “rotten” 59% score, highlighting that Stuart Fails to Save the Universe could improve to the same quality. After all, Seasons 2, 3, 5, and 7 all boast perfect scores. The flagship series features an 81% approval score across all 12 seasons, and a similar 85% from the audience.

Young Sheldon Season 1 comes right after, with a Certified Fresh 76% approval score. The other five seasons didn’t receive enough entries for a critics’ score, but the seventh and final season boasts a 100% score, and the show doesn’t have an overall rating.

The best-rated series overall remains Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, with an 89% score from critics. However, the rating only comes from Season 1, as Season 2 didn’t receive enough ratings for an overall score.

What Are Critics Saying About Stuart Fails to Save the Universe?

Stuart (Kevin Sussman), Denise (Lauren Lapkus), Bert (Brian Posehn) and Barry (John Ross Bowie) on Stuart Fails to Save the UniverseImage via HBO Max

The new spinoff series is set around the titular character, Stuart Bloom, whom audiences know from the original series as the comic book store owner Sheldon and Leonard went to. In the new show, which doesn’t feature any of the main characters of The Big Bang Theory, Stuart Bloom is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon.

Stuart is aided in this quest by his girlfriend Denise, geologist friend Bert, and quantum physicist/all-around pain in the ass Barry Kripke. Along the way, they meet alternate-universe versions of characters we’ve come to know and love from the franchise.

Collider’s Greer Riddell argued, “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’s excesses occasionally overwhelm its emotional core, but its biggest success is giving the most overlooked characters of The Big Bang Theory their own journey.”

Awards Buzz’s Abe Friedtanzer wrote, “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is light and fleeting in a way that works perfectly for what it’s intended to be, an easy comedy to slip in and out of.”

Variety’s Alison Herman argued, “Of course, the constant change endemic to Stuart Fails means sacrificing some of the comforting sameness of a Big Bang-style hangout. But the comic chemistry among the main players provides just enough.”

CBR’s own Katie Doll gave Stuart Fails to Save the Universe a positive review, arguing, “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe sounds ridiculous, and rest assured, it most definitely is. But that’s what makes the new HBO Max series a hysterical must-watch.”

Among the negative reviews, Comic Book Club’s Alexander Zalben argued, “There’s a version of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe somewhere out in the multiverse that is deeper, funnier, and much weirder than the version we got.”

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe releases new episodes on Thursdays on HBO Max until its Season 1 finale on Sept. 24.