The actress opens up about returning to her beloved scientist character in ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ and why she’s grateful she never had to say goodbye

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe!

NEED TO KNOW

• Mayim Bialik reprises her role as Amy Farrah Fowler in The Big Bang Theory spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe
• The multiverse storyline allows Bialik to explore a new version of Amy while keeping elements of the original character
• Bialik reflects on her enduring connection to Amy, calling the role a life-changing opportunity she’s grateful to revisit

Mayim Bialik is back in The Big Bang Theory universe, but Amy Farrah Fowler is getting a multiverse makeover.

Bialik, 50, reprises her fan-favorite role in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, the new spinoff centered on Kevin Sussman’s Stuart Bloom. The series follows Stuart after he accidentally breaks a device built by Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter, creating a multiverse that sends him and his friends into a series of alternate realities. Along the way, familiar Big Bang Theory faces return in unexpected forms.

For Bialik, returning as Amy was less about recreating the character fans already knew and more about getting to explore a different version of the neuroscientist while keeping some of the qualities that made her so beloved.

“I was really excited to get to play a different version of Amy that was still brainy and still science-y,” Bialik tells PEOPLE.

In The Big Bang Theory, Amy was introduced as a highly intelligent but socially awkward neuroscientist who eventually became Sheldon’s wife. Bialik joined the sitcom in season 3 and went on to play Amy through the series’ 2019 finale, earning four Emmy nominations for the role.

That scientific side of Amy was particularly fitting for Bialik, who earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience in real life.

“I think the most Amy thing I’ve ever done in real life was to get a Ph.D. in neuroscience,” she laughs. “I sometimes mix stripes with plaids, which is kind of a no-no, but it’s also an Amy leftover.”

In Stuart Fails to Save the Universe‘s fourth episode, “Spoiler: Stuart Makes a Wallet,” which debuts Aug. 13, Amy appears as Stuart’s psychiatrist in a psychiatric hospital. She’s tasked with assessing whether Stuart is “crazy” — or, as Amy puts it, a word “they don’t like to use around here.”

“As an actor, you’re supposed to be happy with whatever you get,” she explains. “But it’s also really nice when you get something that helps move the plot along in a way that really feels special.”

At the same time, the multiverse gives Bialik the freedom to play with a character she’s known for nearly a decade.

“I was really excited to get to play a different version of myself, but I also really appreciate the ways that I could bring in aspects of the original Amy Farrah Fowler, which I think adds to some of the weirdness of this universe that we get to be part of,” she adds.

Bialik’s return also comes after she and Jim Parsons reprised Amy and Sheldon on Young Sheldon, an experience that helped prepare her for the different tone and format of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. Unlike the four-camera sitcom she knew for years, the new show involves more elaborate scenes, blocking and conversations.

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Still, some things came back instantly when Bialik reunited with her Big Bang family.

“I really just enjoyed being around the cast, seeing how easily our banter came back, how easy it is to interact and to talk,” Bialik says. “Those were extended family members for almost a decade of my life.”

Bialik has now played Amy across The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon and Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, making the character one of the most enduring roles of her career. Rather than feeling like she needs to close the door on Amy, she’s grateful she keeps getting the chance to revisit her.

“I’ve spent five years as Blossom and was called that for most of my life,” she shares. “Then I took a big break and stepped into this Amy Farrah Fowler character.”

Amy’s continued presence is a reflection of just how much the original series changed Bialik’s life.

“I’m not saying ‘Blessed,’ but the opportunity that I had to even be on Big Bang Theory was such a windfall in my life. I’m just grateful kind of for all the other associations with it and being recognized at it and never kind of getting to say goodbye to it.”

For fans wondering what this latest Amy chapter has in store, Bialik is keeping some of the surprises close, but promises the show is worth the trip into another universe.

“I’m excited for people to see every episode of this show,” she says. “I think it’s fantastic. I think it’s strange and awesome and weird and funny and dark.”

And when it comes to her own episode, there’s at least one familiar Amy detail Bialik was happy to bring along.

“For my episode, there’s some really good stuff with me and Kevin. And I always love to wear a lab coat,” she laughs.

New episodes of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe drop Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO Max.

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