‘The Big Bang Theory’ couple Stuart and Dennis find new love in ‘Stuart Couldn’t Save the Universe.’ Unfortunately, the universe is dying.
For 12 seasons, “The Big Bang Theory” turned unlikely romances into TV’s most beloved and geekiest love stories. There was Leonard and Penny, Sheldon and Amy, Howard and Bernadette, and even Raj and Emily.
The sweetest and final surprise of them all was Stuart and Dennis, who are currently starring in HBO Max’s “Stuart Can’t Save the Universe.”
Comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) and assistant manager Dennis (Lauren Lapkus) began their romance on The Big Bang Theory in season 11 (2017), when Lapkus, a late star of Jurassic World, joined the show. The couple bonded over their love of comics and agreed to live together in the season 12 series finale.
For Lapkus, getting the offer to star in “Stuart” was like finding the first issue of Action Comics in mint condition in a bargain bin.
“It was amazing because I literally joined the cast in season 11 and was in eight episodes, about 300 ‘Big Bang’ episodes,” Lapkus told USA TODAY. “I was very happy to be a part of it, but I never expected that six years later I would be contacted to appear in a spin-off.”
How Dennis and Stuart started ‘The Big Bang Theory’
The couple were supportive and their brief “big bang” time together was very charming, even when Stuart paused before agreeing to move in with Denise. Upset, Denise angrily sprays her boyfriend with bullets during a dominant paintball performance.
“It’s a beautiful relationship,” Lapkus says. “Stuart spent many seasons on the show looking for love, growing increasingly desperate, and finally he met his match.”
Stuart’s roommate proposes in a comic book store with the most maniacal affirmation ever, stating that he wants to live with Dennis “more than Galactus wants to devour the world.”
Dennis said yes, stating that he would like to do the same “more than Batman would ignore due process of law.”
“We’re so weird,” Stuart said before kissing Dennis.
Even if the series ended with the two living together, the long-awaited love was too short-lived.
“Stuart was frustrated because he finally had this great relationship that had all the potential,” Sussman told USA TODAY. “Then the show gets cancelled, which is really the worst thing that could have happened to Stuart.”
What are Dennis and Stuart like in “Stuart Couldn’t Save the Universe”?
Thanks to “Stuart” the relationship can continue, but there is a catch. When the entire universe is collapsing due to a machine built by core geeks Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), new life arrives.
The show begins with Dennis attempting to rob Stuart in a dystopian “Mad Max” reality. She stops when she recognizes him. Both thought the other was dead. Dennis says he’s still writing the script, which he discussed for The Big Bang Theory.
“She lives in this totally crazy world where she has to rob people to survive and people are eating rats,” Lapkus says. “Dennis has lived a different life for a long time, and in the next episode a whole new reality and existence will emerge.”
Still, the couple manages to stick together and grow stronger. In some realities, the two may even have another “talk” about whether or not to remain in that entity forever. And it’s even stranger than the original moving story.
“Love started with ‘The Big Bang,’ but ‘Stuart Couldn’t Save the Universe’ really expanded the relationship,” Sussman says. “We’re exploring more aspects of it, and it’s pretty cool.”
