Stuart Fails to Save the Universe: A Complete Timeline of Stuart in TBBT Before His Return

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe finally gives The Big Bang Theory fans something new. It steers the story away from the central seven characters of the original to Stuart Bloom, the awkward comic book store owner who was a constant presence in their lives throughout the series. Kevin Sussman’s gloomy nerd character was loved by many fans, some of whom even felt that he wasn’t treated right by many of the main characters.

He is now back in the role for this HBO Max comedy, which arrives on July 23, 2026, with ten episodes rolling out weekly (via Warner Bros. Discovery Press). Zak Penn joins the original’s creators, Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, to create this fourth show from the TBBT universe. Interestingly, the new show promises a significant tonal shift from the rest of the universe.

Details	Stuart Fails to Save the Universe (2026)	The Big Bang Theory (2007-2020)
Created by	Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady	Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady
Cast	Kevin Sussman, John Ross Bowie, Lauren Lapkus, and Brian Posehn	Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, and Kevin Sussman
Seasons	1	12
Premiere Date	July 23, 2026	September 24, 2007
Network	HBO Max	CBS

In the new show, Stuart breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard and accidentally triggers a “multiverse Armageddon.” With girlfriend Denise, geologist pal Bert, and physicist Barry Kripke along for the ride, he bounces through alternate realities and, true to the title, keeps failing. The premise sounds brilliant, and eagle-eyed fans can already spot plenty of easter eggs in the Stuart Fails to Save the Universe trailer, including its sci-fi twist.

Before Stuart reinvents himself in the multiverse, we would like to revisit his storylines from the original. Here are some of the most significant events of his life from TBBT.

Stuart’s Introduction in The Big Bang Theory and Dating Penny

Stuart Bloom first walked into the show in the Season 2 episode, The Hofstadter Isotope. Penny tags along with the guys to the comic book store to grab a birthday gift for her nephew, and there she meets the friendly owner. Interestingly, this version of Stuart was never seen in the later episodes.

He was warm, helpful, and showed incredible knowledge of comics. He charms Penny by quickly sketching her portrait, proving himself to be a genuinely talented artist. By the end, Leonard learned that Stuart had asked Penny out on a date, which sent him on a jealous spiral. Imagine Leonard being jealous of Stuart!

Interestingly, this characterization didn’t sit well with writers, who drastically changed him into an anxious and broke man in later episodes.

The Awkward Comic Book Store Owner Phase

For a long stretch in the show’s initial seasons, Stuart was simply the comic book store guy. He was portrayed as awkward and self-deprecating, but his comic book store gradually became a common hangout spot for Sheldon and friends. During this time, we learn about his money troubles, and it becomes a running joke.

In the episode The Toast Derivation, it is revealed that Stuart has been sleeping in his store because he can’t afford a place to stay. When presented with a chance, he even cheerfully showers at Sheldon’s apartment. When Howard heads to space in Season 6, Stuart gets pulled closer into the group as a stand-in friend for Raj.

There were moments when the gang embraced him, and others when he was mocked or dismissed. He is always one bad break away from disaster, yet the gang rarely notices his gloomy side.

Stuart Loses His Comic Book Store

Stuart hits his lowest point in the seventh season finale, The Status Quo Combustion. A careless accident with a hot plate sets his comic book store ablaze. It not only took away his only source of income, but the apartment above caught fire, leaving him homeless after the incident.

There are comedic discussions among the friends, who even come up with the theory that he may have torched the place for insurance money. And Sheldon, as tactless as ever, barges into Stuart’s destroyed comic book store and complains about a soggy comic book while Stuart sweeps up the wreckage.

Sadly, there’s also a moment when falling debris almost cost him his life. However, the episode ends with help reaching him from the most unexpected place, from Howard.

Stuart Starts Living in the Holowitz Home

Howard’s help came with a strange option. He can move into the Wolowitz house, but has to take care of Howard’s mother. In Howard’s own words, the job comes with plenty of humiliation and verbal abuse. Out of options, Stuart takes Howard up on the offer. He settled in, and Howard didn’t know at the time that he wasn’t going to leave for a very long time.

He didn’t move out immediately after Mrs. Wolowitz passed away. He continued to be their roommate until the Season 9 episode, The Sales Call Sublimation, when he found his own place. However, he moved back in with Howard and Bernadette when he was evicted from his apartment in Season 10. He again moved out only when he wanted to live with Denise in Season 12.

Stuart’s Relationship With Mrs. Wolowitz

One of the sweetest and strangest bonds on the show is Stuart’s friendship with Debbie Wolowitz. Hired as her caregiver, Stuart thrives, much to the surprise of Howard. Their bond obviously makes Howard uncomfortable. Mrs. Holowitz calls him Stewie, buys him new clothes, sets up cable just for him, and treats him like a second son (or was it romantic? We don’t know!).

Howard is driven insane by this strange bond and even has an argument with Stuart. Howard’s mother even helps fund his comic book store’s renovation. When Howard arrives for the happy reopening of the store in The Comic Book Store Regeneration, things don’t go well when he discovers that his mother gave up their furniture for Stuart’s store.

However, the fight doesn’t last long, as they are interrupted by the tragic news of Mrs. Wolowitz’s passing, a storyline written in after actress Carol Ann Susi passed away. Stuart never forgets that she took him in when he had nowhere else to go.

Stuart Helps Out With Howard & Bernadette’s Baby

By the time Bernadette is ready to deliver Halley, Stuart is back living with them again. He even has a fight with Raj to determine who should help Howard and Bernadette with the baby. He is by their side when they have the baby in the Season 10 episode, The Birthday Synchronicity.

For a guy usually treated as a background sad-sack, he’s surprisingly good with the babies, pitching in around the house and easing the load for the exhausted parents. When Neil Michael arrives, he takes on the role of a male nanny. He even almost gets in trouble with the Spanish-speaking nannies at the park, who suspect that he kidnapped the two kids with him.

In the finale episode, The Stockholm Syndrome, he and Denise are put in charge of the kids when Howard and Bernadette fly to Sweden for the Nobel Prize. Even when chaos erupts, Halley loses a tooth, and Neil Michael spikes a fever, he manages the situation.

Stuart Meets Denise

Stuart’s love life finally turns around in Season 11’s The Comet Polarization. A sudden turn in luck makes his business boom, and he hires a comic-obsessed female assistant manager named Denise. She’s such a nerd-culture expert that she even earns the notoriously picky Sheldon’s respect.

The spark between them catches at Sheldon and Amy’s wedding, where Stuart wows her by out-answering Luke Skywalker himself on Star Wars trivia. They officially become a couple in Season 12, complete with a first date where Stuart turns up alarmingly orange from too much fake tan. By the finale, he agrees to move in with her, and the two finally say “I love you.” We hope that Stuart manages to hold on to her in the new show!

Stuart’s Connection to Kripke and Bert

The new spin-off doesn’t just bring back Stuart and Denise. It also recruits two of TBBT‘s favorite oddballs, Barry Kripke and Bert Kibbler. So, where in the TBBT timeline does he meet Barry and Bert?

He meets Sheldon’s smug rival, Kripke, in the Season 4 episode, The Toast Derivation. Sheldon invites them both, along with Penny’s ex, Zack Johnson, to hang out at his apartment in an attempt to replace Leonard, Howard, and Raj. While Sheldon isn’t happy, the three of them have a bonding experience over karaoke.

Bert, who works at Caltech alongside the guys and Amy, first meets Stuart in the Season 10 episode, The Fetal Kick Catalyst, when they are both invited to brunch at Sheldon and Amy’s. They likely had more interactions beyond this first meeting, but we see less of them together on screen.

The creators of the new spinoff probably hope to take advantage of our unfamiliarity with the kind of relationship these characters had off-screen. Like Stuart, both men hovered on the edges of the main friend group. That shared outsider energy is exactly why teaming them up in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe feels right.

What makes Stuart’s return feel earned is that he was never really one of the gang. For most of the series, he was a lonelier “what if” version of Leonard, Raj, and Howard. So, by handing the new spinoff show to that perpetual outsider, instead of Sheldon or Leonard or even Raj, the makers bring an interesting twist. The guy the main cast spent twelve seasons pitying is finally the one whose choices matter most.

Do you have anything important to add to this Stuart timeline? What are your expectations for the new show? Let us know in the comments below!

The Big Bang Theory is now available on HBO Max. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will arrive on July 23 on HBO Max.