The Big Bang Theory franchise may have entered the sci-fi genre with Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, but there was one genre storyline that the spin-off had to leave behind. In a recent interview, the show’s creators revealed that they had envisioned an underwater arc for the characters in Season 1 but eventually scrapped it due to its risky nature and budget reasons.
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe initially had an underwater storyline
While speaking with Comic Book Resources‘ Grae Drake, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe creators noted that they had conceptualized a Waterworld-esque storyline for The Big Bang Theory spin-off. However, the team decided to abandon the idea shortly afterwards.
“In the first draft of the pilot, the first episode, we were gonna leave them underwater. Yeah, I think we self-censored ourselves in recognizing that there’s the budget. Goodbye. One episode and we’re out of money,” they explained.
The Stuart Fails to Save the Universe team also received advice from the makers of Kevin Costner’s famously expensive sci-fi movie Waterworld about the risks of engaging in such a project. This, combined with apparent budget restraints, convinced the creators to go ahead with an AI-themed story for the pilot episode.
“We bailed out on that, and that led us to the AI [storyline], you know,” said the makers. “We were informed by the production of Waterworld. Seriously reconsider this. So that, that actually led us to the AI universe, which was a good transition for us.”
Created by Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady, the Big Bang Theory spin-off premiered on HBO Max on July 23, 2026. The fourth series in the franchise, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe features several familiar faces in the form of Kevin Sussman, Lauren Lapkus, Brian Posehn, and John Ross Bowie, among others.
Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on ComingSoon.
