Stuart Finale Reveals Characters on a Sitcom Set

The season-one finale of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe places its characters on a sitcom set, where they encounter alternate versions of themselves performing before a studio audience. The meta reveal, filmed on the former The Big Bang Theory stage, left cast members John Ross Bowie and Brian Posehn describing the experience as surreal and disorienting, but enjoyable. The finale, titled “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience,” brings Stuart, Denise, Kripke and Bert into an alternate universe that appears to be the set of the show itself. The characters see other versions of themselves introduced under the actors’ real names and watched by an audience. The episode marks a sharp shift from the series’ journey through alternate timelines and leaves the story’s meaning unresolved. Bowie, who plays Kripke, said the finale was the only episode filmed with a studio audience. He described returning to Stage 25, where The Big Bang Theory was filmed, and watching stand-ins resembling the cast take the stage. The sight was disconcerting, he said, though he was proud the series had taken such an unusual narrative risk.