{"id":612748,"date":"2026-07-31T03:05:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T03:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/612748\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T03:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T03:05:16","slug":"stuart-fails-to-save-the-universe-eps-talk-ep-2-kaley-cuoco-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/612748\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Stuart Fails To Save The Universe’ EPs Talk Ep 2, Kaley Cuoco return"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSPOILER ALERT: The story includes details about Episode 2 of HBO Max\u2019s Stuart Fails To Save the Universe<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tAs Stuart Fails To Save the Universe revealed in the Episode 2 opening credits spoiler (You can read all about the show\u2019s unique, ever-changing main title sequence here<\/a>), \u201cZack is in this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tZack, a recurring character on The Big Bang Theory<\/a> played by Brian Thomas Smith, was Penny\u2019s (Kaley Cuoco<\/a>) dim-witted but kind-hearted on- and off- boyfriend while she and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) were broken up. <\/p>\n

\n\tStuart Fails To Save the Universe, from The Big Bang Theory creators Chuck Lorre<\/a> & Bill Prady<\/a> and Zak Penn<\/a>, has established a pattern with the first two episodes, each featuring a surprise return of a Big Bang Theory original cast member. Following Kunal Nayyar\u2019s appearance as Raj in Episode 1 where he is shockingly killed by Kripke<\/a> (John Ross Bowie), Cuoco showed up in the second episode alongside Zack (Smith). In it, Penny is a leader of the resistance against an AI-imposed mind control in an alternate universe where everyone is forced to be perpetually nice and happy by shock-inducing buttons on their necks. Zack is her second in command.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t(L-R): Brian Posehn, Brian Thomas Smith, Kevin Sussman<\/a>, Kaley Cuoco and John Ross Bowie in Episode 2 of \u2018Stuart Fails To Save the Universe\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\tMultiverse and all, why did the Stuart Fails To Save the Universe creators opt to have Penny be with Zack as if her relationship with Leonard \u2014 one of the hallmarks of The Big Bang Theory from the pilot \u2014 never happened?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBecause that\u2019s what happened in that universe, we don\u2019t know what Leonard is doing in that universe,\u201d Prady said. \u201cEvery universe gives every character a completely different history. There\u2019s no continuity because they lived a different life, they lived in a different world. That Penny lives in a world where an evil AI controls people through shock collars, and so she had a completely different experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAdded Lorre, \u201cThere was no Cheesecake Factory in her life,\u201d a reference to Penny\u2019s place of work for most of Big Bang\u2018s run. <\/p>\n

\n\tStuart Fails To Save the Universe presents a very different version of Penny who is pretty ruthless, violently slapping Stuart (Kevin Sussman), Bert (Brian Posehn) and Kripke (John Ross Bowie) to \u201cdeprogram\u201d them and ordering them killed with no hesitation once she realizes that they don\u2019t know how to defeat the AI overlord. The trio are ultimately saved by a drone attack launched by the AI, with Penny, Zack and the rest getting incapacitated while Stuart, Bert, Kripke, along with Denise (Lauren Lapkus<\/a>), use Leonard and Sheldon\u2019s machine to transport themselves to another universe.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Raj teetering on the edge of madness in Season 1, are Big Bang OGs relishing going dark in the spinoff? <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBeyond,\u201d Prady said.<\/p>\n

\n\t Added Lorre, \u201cBeyond. It was fun to do something different, that was part of the promise, come and play with us, and we\u2019ll make sure that you\u2019re playing a version of your character you never got to play before, an entirely different approach to the character, and that was fun for the actors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSaid Penn, \u201cAnd everyone wants to play the bad guy, that\u2019s always the most fun role.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEpisode 2 also includes appearances from The Big Bang Theory\u2018s Christine Baranski<\/a> and Riki Lindhome. <\/p>\n

\n\tBaranski, who played Leonard\u2019s mom Beverly on the mothership series, is the host of the 30-month re-education program Stuart, Bert are Kripke are forced to attend as a version of herself. (Interestingly, neither Stuart nor Bert or Kripke reacted to her uncanny resemblance to their friend\u2019s mother.)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Stuart Fails To Save the Universe\u2019 E2: Christine Baranski<\/p>\n

\n\tLindhome, who did only three but memorable guest appearances on Big Bang as Ramona Nowitzkis, an obsessive CalTech graduate student, plays a version of the same character who is now a receptionist from hell at her alma mater. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Stuart Fails To Save the Universe\u2019 E2: Riki Lindhome<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPOILER ALERT: The story includes details about Episode 2 of HBO Max\u2019s Stuart Fails To Save the Universe.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[265],"tags":[200553,122734,39385,18,117,19,17,46633,91886,200555,169221,28849,128,258724],"class_list":["post-612748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bill-prady","tag-christine-baranski","tag-chuck-lorre","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kaley-cuoco","tag-kevin-sussman","tag-lauren-lapkus","tag-stuart-fails-to-save-the-universe","tag-the-big-bang-theory","tag-tv","tag-zak-penn"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117012381104696810","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}