Scientology already comes with enough lore to fill a prestige sci-fi writers’ room. Its teachings discuss traumatic mental recordings called “engrams,” while confidential upper-level OT III material contains the famous Xenu story involving an ancient galactic ruler, volcanoes, hydrogen bombs, and disembodied spirits. Hollywood supplied another chapter.

Tom Cruise became its most famous celebrity member, while John Travolta starred in Battlefield Earth, adapted from founder L. Ron Hubbard’s novel. Long before creating The Big Bang Theory, Chuck Lorre spent roughly a decade inside Scientology too. His eventual exit, however, came with a brutal social punchline.

Many friends disappeared, while the church barely seemed to notice.

Chuck Lorre detailed his decade in Scientology and the fallout from leaving in his new book Sitcom: A Memoir, revealing that he and his then-wife were abandoned by friends after their departure.

""We were so broke, no one noticed we were gone," Lorre writes, explaining that while the church is known for chasing departing members with pleas or threats to return, this pressure only applies to those with money.

He and his wife were too financially strapped to warrant the church's attention, so their exit went unnoticed by the organization that had once claimed to "heal" his dying father. Lorre admitted he once believed Scientology "could heal" his father during his illness, reflecting the deep faith he placed in the church's promises during his decade of involvement.

The memoir reveals how completely the religion permeated his life, shaping his worldview and relationships before disillusionment set in and prompted his exit alongside his then-wife. The social cost proved devastating; friends who remained in the church cut ties with the couple entirely, demonstrating Scientology's practice of severing connections with those who leave. 

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Lorre escaped one complicated universe decades ago, and now his newest television creation has literally stranded its characters between universes.

HBO Max has officially renewed Stuart Fails to Save the Universe for Season 2, and Lorre, Bill Prady, and Zak Penn are already back in the writers’ room crafting another 10 episodes. Production is tentatively targeted for January or February 2027, with the team hoping to return later that year.

Season 1 ended by dropping Stuart, Denise, Bert, and Kripke into their strangest reality yet. After escaping a DC Comics-inspired universe and encountering a mysterious cosmic adversary, the quartet seemingly reached the real world and discovered the set of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. Their horrifying revelation was beautifully nerdy: they might actually be fictional television characters.

That existential grenade gives Season 2 plenty to play with. Lorre confirmed the story must address the finale’s real-world cliffhanger, while Penn revealed that Stuart Prime and the mysterious adversary represent separate forces in the larger multiverse mystery. The creators freely admit they have written themselves into a corner. Their solution appears wonderfully scientific: keep writing until the corner develops a portal.

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What do you think about Chuck Lorre finally opening up about his years in Scientology? Let us know in the comments.