Big Bang Theory Spinoff at Max: Kevin Sussman Among 3 Returnees — Who Else Is Coming Back?
Max’s Big Bang Theory spinoff is no longer in its “prenatal stage.” Franchise vets Kevin Sussman (Stuart), Lauren Lapkus (Denise) and Brian Posehn (Bert) have all signed deals to star in the potential offshoot, TVLine has confirmed.
According to our sister site Deadline, which first broke the news, the offshoot remains in the early stages of development; there’s been no official green light, and a script is still being written. That said, this news would confirm that the series will be a true spinoff — not a sequel series comprised of mostly new characters (à la Hulu’s How I Met Your Father).
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The untitled spinoff, which otherwise remains shrouded in secrecy, was first revealed in April 2023 — just four years after Big Bang wrapped its 12-season run — when Warner Bros. Discovery disclosed that executive producer Chuck Lorre was developing a new comedy series “derived from” the CBS mega-hit. But beyond its streaming destination, no further details were announced — and three weeks later, the Writers Guild of America went on a 148-day strike, which put any further development on hold for the duration of the industry walkout (which ended that September).
Come November, series co-creator Chuck Lorre told TVLine that the project was still in the “prenatal” stage. Then in February, series vet Kunal Nayyar told us that it “feels a little too soon” to reprise Raj.
Yet, there’s still reason to be excited. After all, when Lorre told TVLine in 2019 that a solid spinoff conceit failed to materialize before the multi-cam wrapped production, he explained that “unless there was a creative reason to do it — a wonderfully, wonderfully creative reason to do it — than the only reason [to do it] is economics, and that’s not good enough.” That leads us to believe that the sitcom titan has a pretty spectacular idea up his sleeve — and now we know it’ll involve comic book store owner Stuart, his girlfriend Denise, and Caltech geologist Bert.
News of their casting comes just one week out from the debut of Young Sheldon spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, which premieres Thursday, Oct. 17 on CBS. In an interview with TVLine, former Big Bang and Young Sheldon showrunner Steve Holland had this to say about the Big Bang offshoot: “I know this is a thing that Chuck has been working on for a while, and he’s excited about it. [Young Sheldon co-creator] Steve [Molaro] and I are focused on Georgie & Mandy, but Chuck knows what he’s doing. He’s got a good idea for it — for these characters — and I’m sure that it’s going to be fantastic.”
Warner Bros. TV and Max declined to comment for this story.
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