Comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Sussman) is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon. Stuart is aided in this quest by his girlfriend Denise, geologist friend Bert, and quantum physicist/all-around pain in the ass Barry Kripke. Along the way, they meet alternate-universe versions of characters we've come to know and love from The Big Bang Theory. As the title implies, things don't go well.
In addition to Sussman, the comedy will star Lauren Lapkus, Brian Posehn and John Ross Bowie.
Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn and Bill Prady created the comedy. Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Productions will produce.
"We're excited to be continuing the legacy of The Big Bang Theory," said Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max Content. "Much like the original series, this new chapter wouldn't be possible without the vision and storytelling brilliance of Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, as well as Zak Penn, who has brought fresh insight and a distinctive voice to an already exceptional creative team."
"I wanted to do something radical that would take me out of my comfort zone," added Lorre. "Something the characters on The Big Bang Theory would have loved, hated, and argued about."
"I was on a vision quest in the most remote parts of the Amazon Rainforest when a carrier pigeon arrived with a note from Chuck Lorre asking if I wanted to help make a show that the characters from Big Bang Theory would watch," shared Penn. "I couldn't resist that idea, so I packed up my yurt and hailed the next dirigible out. At the same time, Chuck sent an expedition to locate Bill Prady, who had been frozen with his shield across his chest in a block of arctic ice. The team assembled, we set out to make this insane show, which lives in a universe created by Chuck and Bill. I couldn't be more honored to be working with these amazing people."
"The process of writing this show with Chuck and Zak has been damn fun, and I'm certain that joy will come through the screen," stated Prady. "Putting characters we loved from The Big Bang Theory into a complex science fiction story with the kind of mythology that those characters love while maintaining the comedic elements is incredibly satisfying."
