Note: This story contains spoilers from the “Brilliant Minds” series premiere.
“Brilliant Minds” introduces Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf, a neurologist whose unique life and skillset is loosely drawn from the acclaimed Oliver Sacks — down to the complex relationships laid out the NBC procedural’s pilot.
“It’s a contemporary version of that character, but it’s not biographical,” showrunner Michael Grassi told TheWrap. “Oliver Sacks lived such a … robust, incredible life and to have that as inspiration, and as a jumping off point has been so helpful … to build this really fascinating character at the center of our medical show.”
Pulling from access to two of Sack’s books — “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” and “An Anthropologist on Mars” — Grassi drew from Sacks’ prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, to craft Oliver’s character. The cognitive disorder, which is revealed in the premiere episode, leads to a struggle within Oliver’s personal life, but prompts him to think outside of the box when it comes to his work.
His unique thinking can sometimes backfire, though. After getting fired from his job for taking an Alzheimer’s patient outside of the hospital to give him a tender moment with his family, Oliver is offered a neurology gig at Bronx General by his friend, Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry), which he is initially hesitant to take, though eventually gets drawn in by an intriguing case.
By the end of the episode, viewers learn why Oliver didn’t want to work at Brox General specifically — the chief of the hospital is his mother (Donna Murphy). The twist is inspired by Sacks’ real-life relationship with his mother, which he writes about extensively in his books.
“In developing this show, I thought it would be really interesting to tell her a really deep, complex mother-son relationship within our hospital. As the series progresses, we’re gonna do sort of a deep excavation on why these two don’t get along in the present and what went on,” Grassi said, teasing their working relationship will reveal some “juicy” storylines.
After revealing Oliver’s sexuality in the pilot, “Brilliant Minds” is one of the new broadcast series with gay lead at the center, which Grassi points to as one of the most exciting things about creating the show, especially at NBC.
“NBC has an incredible legacy with LGBTQ characters, and the thing that comes to mind for me when I was a kid and ‘Will & Grace’ came out,” Grassi said. “If I’m perfectly honest with you, I don’t know if I’d be sitting here — I don’t know where I’d be today — if I didn’t have ‘Will & Grace’ — that kind of representation is really important.”
While Grassi is grateful for the representation, he didn’t want Oliver’s sexuality to be the “entire thrust of the show” and rather wanted it to be just another part of him, opting for his sexuality to be revealed in a casual conversation with Carol.
“That’s an important part of his character but it’s not the only thing about his character,” Grassi said. “He’s so focused on his patients … he is so dedicated to helping patients live their best life that he has neglected to live his own in some ways.”
There might be a hint of romance on the way from Bronx General’s head of neurosurgery, Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Spears), who quickly clashes with Oliver’s outside-of-the-box methods. With Quinto and Sears having previously played husbands in the first season of Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story,” the duo has lots of room to explore their characters’ rivalry.
“I’m very excited to for audiences to see how they sort of have different point of views on medicine, and how they’ll clash within Bronx General and maybe come together,” Grassi said, adding “there’s a lot to dig into with their relationship.”
Oliver’s views are also challenged by a group of young interns he takes under his wing, whose openness regarding mental health — down to which SSRI they’re taking — infuse the NBC procedural with some Gen Z spirit, which came naturally for Grassi after producing and writing teen drama series like “Riverdale,” “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin,” “Katy Keene” and “Degrassi: The Next Generation.”
“I’m growing up and I’m writing for a more mature audience, but so is the audience I wrote for previously, so I want to bring them with me,” Grassi said. “I’m really hopeful that young audiences will be able to find themselves in this show as well, and reinvigorate the medical drama in a way.”
With each episode following a new case that Oliver tackles as well as progressions in his personal life, Grassi sees the show as equal parts “character drama” and “high stakes medical mystery,” which mimics Sacks’ own work.
“A lot of what Wolf is going through in his personal life is what he brings to his cases, the same way the real Oliver Sacks really brought himself to his patients,” Grassi said, “His sort of primary question as a as a physician was always ‘how are you? How do you think?’ and I think our Oliver Wolf does the same.”
As viewers piece together Oliver’s past through flashbacks as he finds a way forward for himself and his patients, Grassi teased Season 1 is an “exciting ride” with “some fun twists and rug poles along the way.”
“Brilliant Minds” premieres Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
