EXCLUSIVE: A key piece of the upcoming Big Bang Theory spinoff series for Max has come into place — its creative team. Franchise steward Chuck Lorre, co-creator of the original series and all of its offshoots, had been the only auspice announced for the series, starring Big Bang alums Kevin Sussman, Brian Posehn and Lauren Lapkus.

Lorre has teamed on the project with feature writer Zak Penn (The Avengers, Ready Player One, Free Guy), sources tell Deadline. They have been joined by Big Bang co-creator Bill Prady. The trio are co-writing the script and are set to executive produce the series, from Big Bang studio Warner Bros. TV where Lorre is based.

Penn is an unconventional pick for the multi-camera comedy as he doesn’t have sitcom experience (His two TV credits to date are drama series Alphas and Beacon 23, which he created/co-created). However, he does have a strong genre background, including in comic books with his work on the X-Men and The Avengers movies, which would come handy as that is a passion shared by most Big Bang characters, including Stuart Bloom (Sussman), whose comic book store is rumored to be central to the new series.

This marks Lorre and Prady’s first major collaboration since The Big Bang Theory. (Prady served as a consulting producer on spinoff Young Sheldon.)

Sussman, Posehn and Lapkus boarded the Big Bang spinoff when they signed talent-holding deals with Warner Bros Television in October.

On the mothership series, Lapkus played the comic book store’s quirky assistant manager and subsequently Stuart’s girlfriend on Big Bang. Posehn played another standout secondary character, geologist and guitar enthusiast Bert Kibbler.

The Big Bang Theory debuted on CBS in 2007 and was the No. 1 comedy on TV when it ended in 2019 as the longest-running multi-camera series in television history, with 279 episodes over 12 seasons. Like that series and other offshoots, Young Sheldon and Georgie And Mandy’s First Marriage, the Max show is from Chuck Lorre Productions in association with WBTV.