{"id":955603,"date":"2026-07-24T06:09:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T06:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/955603\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T06:09:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T06:09:15","slug":"stuart-creators-stars-on-premieres-shocking-og-death-aftermath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/955603\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Stuart’ Creators & Stars On Premiere’s Shocking OG Death & Aftermath"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\n\tThe Big Bang Theory<\/a> spinoff Stuart Fails To Save the Universe starts off with Stuart (Kevin Sussman) in a post-apocalyptic Pasadena getting a visit from an alternate version of himself who urges him to restore reality after he had broken a quantum interference device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon. The mission begins with a quest to break into CalTech to retrieve the machine. On the way there, Stuart and Bert (Brian Posehn<\/a>) bump into Stuart\u2019s old flame Denise (Lauren Lapkus<\/a>) \u2014 now a common thief \u2014 and her boyfriend Gary (Tommy Walker) who decide to help them.<\/p>\n

\n\tGary is swiftly (and meaninglessly) killed per the spoiler in the title sequence \u2014 read all about that and the show\u2019s unusual opening credits here<\/a> \u2014 but there was a bigger death waiting inside.<\/p>\n

\n\tStuart, Bert and Denise are captured and imprisoned alongside Raj (original Big Bang star Kunal Nayyar<\/a>) who had been locked up there for years under the orders of \u201cthe evil one,\u201d the Great Khalif of South Pasadena, who turns out to be none other than Big Bang\u2018s Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter some action hero heroics, Stuart, Bert, Denise and Raj get to the device and Raj is seconds from fixing it when he is shot dead in the back by Kripke, determined to protect his reign. <\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline asked Stuart Fails to Save the Universe creators Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady and Zak Penn about the shocking development involving a legacy Big Bang character. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWell, he\u2019s only gone in this one universe, as Kripke points out in the next universe,\u201d Lorre and Prady said.<\/p>\n

\n\tAdded Penn, \u201cWe liked the idea, I think we all thought it would be fun to do because we knew that we could bring them back,\u201d he said of Raj and other OG Big Bang characters. \u201cBut I think it\u2019ll be fun for people watching the first episode, don\u2019t you? That there\u2019ll be this moment of like, oh my God, they killed Raj!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring Stuart Fails To Save the Universe\u2018s Thursday Comic-Com panel that followed a screening of the premiere, Prady teased more Big Bang returns<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou saw one wonderful member of the theBig Bang Theory family in that first episode,\u201d he said, referring to Nayyar. \u201cThere are more, and there are also some performers who are some wonderful minor characters that are coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking to Deadline, Bowie addressed the evil turn Kripke takes in the premiere, capped by the coldblooded murder of Raj.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI would be very curious as to how America reacts to that, I gotta say,\u201d he said. \u201cIt moves the plot forward, and in the very next episode, he makes the point that maybe that universe doesn\u2019t exist anymore, in which case, I did not kill Raj, or I killed one of an infinite number of Rajes, so it is after all a \u2018wounding ewwow\u2019 \u2014 which is harder to say than it sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs you can see in the video of his comments below, Bowie slipped into character, saying \u201crounding error\u201d with Kripke\u2019s signature rhotacism speech pattern. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSo they kind of rationalize it, but that said, Kunal is the sweetest, he is made of puppies, basically, and to have to shoot him in the back, no less, didn\u2019t feel great, I won\u2019t lie to you,\u201d Boiwe added. \u201cBut then immediately, what happens? Burt kicks my ass in the most extended fight scene either of us has ever done. Burt hands me my ass immediately following \u2014 which was apparently Zak Penn\u2019s idea \u2014 like, if he\u2019s going to do this, he has to immediately have his comeuppance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBowie got a lot of flak from fans \u2014 and his co-stars \u2014 for what his character did to Raj during the Stuart Fails To Save the Universe\u2018s Comic-Com panel.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe\u2019s the most likable character maybe in TV history, it\u2019s like shooting Fonzie, I feel terrible,\u201d Bowie said of Raj before reassuring the audience, \u201cI only do it once. Sorry, I will spoil that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLater, Bowie was teased again, this time by Posehn, over the killing. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou saw that Raj comes back, right? I really wanted them to show that Raj comes back, or else I wasn\u2019t going to come out here,\u201d he told his co-stars, adding, \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t I have just shot Howard?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat last line \u2014 referencing one of Big Bang\u2018s main characters, Kripke\u2019s engineering rival Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) \u2014 got the entire Hall H laughing.<\/p>\n

\n

*SPOILER ALERT! Do not listen if you haven’t watched Episode 1 of ‘Stuart Fails To Save The Universe’<\/p>\n

Bill Prady teases more ‘Big Bang Theory’ fan favorites will return for #StuartFailsToSaveTheUniverse<\/a><\/p>\n

And John Ross Bowie chimes in on Kripke’s role in Raj’s shocking death in\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Zc9xKaObxk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Deadline (@DEADLINE) July 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\tAs Penn explained to Deadline<\/a>, Kripke was added to Stuart Fails To Save the Universe by Prady to serve as an antagonist in the mold of Dr. Zachary Smith from Lost In Space.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cObviously, he\u2019s sort of the in-house villain of the show \u2014 much as he was on the last program \u2014 but the necessity of this group is that he eventually has to learn how to work with other people,\u201d Bowie said at Comic-Con. \u201cSo he\u2019s actually got a cool arc over the course of the 10 episodes. He\u2019s Kripke, don\u2019t get me wrong, you\u2019re going to hear some awful stuff from Kripke\u2019s mouth. But he has a little bit of an arc, and it\u2019s fun to take him on that journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

*SPOILER ALERT! Do not listen if you haven’t watched Episode 1 of ‘Stuart Fails To Save The Universe’ <\/p>\n

John Ross Bowie on Kripke being the “in house villain” of #StuartFailsToSaveTheUniverse<\/a> and his role in an OG ‘Big Bang Theory’ character’s (Raj portrayed by Kunal Nayyar)\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/whjH7w2KZH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Deadline (@DEADLINE) July 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\tIndeed, while the character went very dark in the premiere, there is always a path to redemption. As Kripke says in a subsequent episode, \u201cBeing an asshole is a hobby, not a vocation\u201d in one of the season\u2019s more memorable lines.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI love that line too,\u201d Bowie told Deadline. \u201cThat was really fun to say, it was a really fun moment for me too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile he appears sympathetic to Kripke, there is one thing Bowie would change about his character.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI would love for Kripke to be just a little taller,\u201d Bowie, 5\u20198\u2033, quipped. <\/p>\n