Barry Kripke joins the Big Bang spinoff as its Lost in Space wildcard
John Ross Bowie’s Barry Kripke became the fourth lead of HBO Max’s Stuart Fails to Save the Universe after a sci-fi-inspired rethink.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
Barry Kripke is barging back into the Big Bang universe with a very specific job: be the problem.
John Ross Bowie’s sharp-edged physicist was added as a fourth lead on HBO Max’s upcoming spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe after the creative team decided the show needed an antagonist in the mold of Dr. Zachary Smith from Lost in Space, Deadline reported.
The comedy, built around Kevin Sussman’s comic book store owner Stuart Bloom, had first looked like a three-hander. Warner Bros. Television signed Sussman, Brian Posehn and Lauren Lapkus to talent-holding deals in October 2024 for the project, according to Deadline. The trio were set to return as Stuart, geologist Bert Kibbler and Denise, Stuart’s girlfriend.
Four months later, Bowie signed his own deal with the studio to reprise Kripke, the plasma physicist known from The Big Bang Theory. Photos from the first table read and marketing materials have since confirmed the show as a four-lead comedy, Deadline reported.
The Lost in Space spark
Zak Penn, who is working on the series with Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, told Deadline that Prady pushed for an antagonistic presence.
“Bill said, we need a Dr. Zachary Smith from Lost in Space, we need an antagonistic character, and Kripke is perfect for it,” Penn said. “He didn’t have to convince us, we were like, oh yeah, good point.”
Dr. Smith was the troublemaking antagonist on the 1960s sci-fi series Lost in Space, where he sabotaged the intergalactic trip of the Robinson family, the space-colonist clan at the center of the show.
Lorre told Deadline that adding Bowie strengthened a cast already packed with comic performers. “John is a brilliant comic actor, and we had a rock solid cast of great comic actors, adding John as well,” he said.
Bowie waited out the first announcement
Bowie told Deadline he had a brief spell of disappointment after seeing that Sussman, Posehn and Lapkus had been announced for the spinoff, while he was not part of that first wave.
“I allowed myself 36-48 hours of self-pity, and then figured, you know, they’ll find something for me to do,” Bowie said. He added that he expected Kripke would return “in some form or another.”
The call he eventually got was bigger than a guest spot. Bowie said the team told him the show had been reworked so Kripke could serve as its Dr. Smith-style figure. His response, according to Deadline: “I totally get that reference, I’m all in, sign me up.”
Bowie also said he was eager to work with the cast, noting he had known the actors for years. He told Deadline he met Posehn shortly after moving to Los Angeles in 2002 and was already a fan of his work.
Posehn backed the move, telling Deadline he was excited when he learned Bowie had been added and that the choice “made total sense.”
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe premieres on HBO Max on July 23, with new episodes released weekly.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.