TV

HBO Max’s long-awaited The Big Bang Theory spinoff is officially live. The series, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, is an odd departure from the rich universe about a group of socially awkward scientists created by Chuck Lorre. Despite familiar faces, the show feels a bit stranger than anyone anticipated. Still, one The Big Bang …

HBO Max’s long-awaited The Big Bang Theory spinoff is officially live. The series, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, is an odd departure from the rich universe about a group of socially awkward scientists created by Chuck Lorre. Despite familiar faces, the show feels a bit stranger than anyone anticipated. Still, one The Big Bang Theory star made it feel a bit more grounded; we are hoping to see more of that.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe follows comic book store owner Stuart Bloom after he accidentally triggers a multiverse collapse using a dimension-hopping device originally built by Sheldon and Leonard. Joined by his girlfriend Denise, geologist Bert, and Barry Kripke, Stuart is forced to find his way across shattered alternate realities. The goal of the whiny small business owner is to set things right. Though he seems unconvinced that he’s capable.

The goal was to create an “alternate universe” version of The Big Bang Theory. In order to do so successfully, the team behind the series had to bring multiple familiar faces into the series. Fans expected them to do so with side characters. What they didn’t expect was a main character reveal right from the start — but that’s exactly what happened. Kunal Nayyar, in a shocking twist, has reprised his role as Raj Koothrappali in the pilot episode.

The spinoff has been in the works for years at this point. Because of its long lead time, fans have been getting dribbles of information from Chuck Lorre along the way. Several months back, HBO Max revealed the main cast, with the core consisting of mostly supporting or recurring characters from the original series. The early moments produced exactly what fans expected, but there were plenty of surprises in store. The return of Kunal Nayyar as Raj Koothrappali was a well-guarded surprise.

Unlike the other characters sprinkled throughout the episode, Raj isn’t just making a quick cameo; he’s central to the plot. In this alternate reality, the once-charming astrophysicist has been taken prisoner by Barry, who’s holding him captive while trying to extract information about what went wrong with Leonard and Sheldon’s device. The Raj of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe looks very different from the shy astrophysicist fans remember from the original series. In the spinoff, Raj sports an exceptionally long beard and a noticeably rougher, more paranoid demeanor. Fans have yet to learn just how long he’s been held captive by a decidedly creepier Barry.

Whether we’ll see more of the main cast remains unknown. Season 1 is slated for 10 episodes, with a new episode releasing each Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern on HBO Max. Considering the big Raj reveal, we assume the series has more surprises in store.