HBO's new Big Bang Theory show teases bizarre sci-fi multiverse romp in trailer

A surprisingly silly The Walking Dead-meets-Dark Matter mashup premieres on HBO Max this summer

The Big Bang Theory's third(!) spinoff show looks surprisingly different, blending sci-fi elements of Dark Matter and The Matrix with post-apocalyptic monster fare like The Walking Dead. Also, I'm pretty sure Batman villain Mr. Freeze is in the show's first trailer?

HBO Max's Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is a multiversal adventure TV show, in which comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) from The Big Bang Theory travels across multiple broken realities. According to an official description from HBO Max, Stuart is tasked with playing the hero "after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon."

Joining Stuart on his quest are his girlfriend Denise (Lauren Lapkus), geologist friend Bert (Brian Posehn), and "quantum physicist/all-around pain in the ass" Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie). As seen in the first full trailer for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, the gang will leap through alternate realities, many of them dystopian, including a world terrorized by giant moths, a zombie-infested reality, and one in which Stuart wakes up in a human-battery pod from The Matrix. But as the show's title clearly communicates, Stuart is not The One. Suffice it to say that with all the DC Comics and Matrix references in the trailer, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe looks like it will fully capitalize on Warner Bros. corporate synergy.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe looks like it may be the riskiest The Big Bang Theory spinoff yet, following family-friendly fare Young Sheldon and that show's sequel, Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage. It's unlikely that Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will go as dark as Apple TV's multiversal sci-fi adventure series Dark Matter, but at least it appears to be taking some chances and has a VFX budget to match its ambition.

Like other TBBT shows, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe comes from Chuck Lorre Productions. The show is created, written, and executive produced by Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe debuts on HBO Max on Thursday, July 23.