The new Big Bang Theory spinoff needs to avoid being just the 13th season

The news that The Big Bang TheoryThe new spinoff of Stuart, starring Stuart, brings to light a major potential problem for the series. Like most successful comedies, The Big Bang Theory spinoffs generated. Unlike most successful TV comedies, the show's sequels were not simply sequels that followed a specific character on a new adventure. Instead, after The Big Bang Theorythe end, Young Sheldon went back in time to explore the early life of the series' breakout character. The spinoff changed the entire premise as Young Sheldon was a single-camera family comedy, while The Big Bang Theory it was a multi-camera date show.

As if that wasn't unusual enough, Young Sheldonspin-off Georgie and Mandy's first wedding he complicated things even more by continuing his story. Although the show started where Young Sheldonthe ending stopped, Georgie and Mandy's first wedding knocked down Young Sheldonsingle camera approach in favor of The Big Bang Theorytraditional multi-camera sitcom style. As such, viewers could have been forgiven for assuming that The Big Bang Theory would never receive a conventional spinoff at this rate. However, October 2024 saw Deadline report that a spin-off of Big Bang Theory was in the "Early stage of development" at Max, with some supporting stars returning.

The Big Bang Theory's Main Characters Missing From Stuart's Spinoff Would Raise Big Questions

Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Raj, Bernadette, Amy and Penny are expected to appear

Max's streaming spinoff is set to focus on Kevin Sussman's Stuart, a comic book store owner who was also friends with The Big Bang Theorycentral gang. Stuart was one of the most important characters in the series after the central group of Leonard, Penny, Raj, Howard, Bernadette, Sheldon and Amy. However, he's not the only supporting star who is in talks to return. Brian Posehn, who played annoying geologist Bert Kibbler, is also attached to the project. Rumor has it that improv icon Lauren Lapkus will reprise her role as Stuart's quirky girlfriend Denise, the store's assistant manager.

That sounds promising, but the spinoff scenario immediately raises an obvious question. The Big Bang TheoryThe Spinoff of Can't Happen at the Comic Shop Without Bringing Back the Original Heroesas the store was effectively a second home for them. Some of the The Big Bang TheoryThe best moments happened in the store and Stuart was fundamental in the lives of the show's heroes, even living in the Wolowitz house for a long period. As a result, it would be bizarre if the new show didn't feature cameos from Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and Johnny Galecki.

Big Bang Theory main characters would risk making Stuart spinoff in season 13

The gang's return would easily overshadow Stuart's new show

However, this creates another bigger problem for the upcoming Max series. The Big Bang TheoryThe spinoff of Can't Bring Back Its Original Heroes Without Overshadowing Its New Protagonistsso the main gang can't appear without the new show effectively becoming a continuation of the original series. The Big Bang TheoryThe cast of The Stars were some of the highest-paid actors on television when the show ended in 2019, meaning their return would hardly be a playful cameo. Any appearance from the seven main stars would immediately become the most notable thing about the Max spinoff, which could cause another problem.

If an appearance of The Big Bang TheoryAmy and Sheldon immediately gave the spin-off endless publicity and attention from fans, so there would inevitably be a temptation to involve the original cast more heavily in the new series. If the cast members were happy to reprise their original roles, the show could soon end up becoming a sequel instead of a spinoff. While That 70s show faced a similar problem with its iconic original cast, the generation gap between the original heroes and the protagonists meant That 70s showthe main actors failed to lead That 90s show.

How Stuart's Big Bang Theory spinoff can get the balance of its characters right

Occasional Cameos Can Keep TBBT Fans Happy

The Big Bang TheoryThe spinoff of doesn't have the same luxury as That 90s showsince it hasn't been decades since the original series ended and the new heroes aren't separated from the original stars by an entire generation. On the contrary, Stuart was a close friend of The Big Bang Theorythe heroesso they really should appear in the new series for the sake of consistency. This will make it difficult for the show to find a way to get viewers invested in both its new characters and The Big Bang Theoryis returning cast members.

One way to do this would be to only include cameos from The Big Bang Theorycharacters when they visit the comic book store. This way, viewers could meet Sheldon and Amy's daughter or get some solid proof that Leonard was still alive and well, but Stuart, Denise, and Bert would still receive the majority of screen time and story focus. Keeping the original cast's cameos limited to scenes set in the comic book store could ensure that The Big Bang TheoryThe original gang still participates in the show, but doesn't end up dominating its action.

Source: Deadline