Few genres today are as popular as the medical drama, those torrid shows that pair intense procedures with the steamy lives of the doctors who conduct them. There have been countless spins on this concept, from the historic ER to the soapy Grey’s Anatomy, with each new addition trying to find something special to set them apart from the crowd. These can be interesting ensembles, strange surroundings, or, in the case of Michael Grassi’s Brilliant Minds, focusing on a controversial doctor whose inability to recognize faces helps him see the humanity within his patients.

It’s an interesting premise that draws from a real neurological disability, echoing the series’ constant attempts to bring the reality of its patients’ complex afflictions to the screen in a way no program ever has before. In this way, it largely succeeds; by spotlighting the harsh truths that other dramas shirk in the name of dramatic flair, it creates a naturally compelling display of medical intrigue that viewers can actually see themselves in. Combine this with a revolving door of exemplary guest stars and a superb core cast, and the series easily sets itself apart… well, almost. In trying so hard to be different, Brilliant Minds gives into the worst parts of this genre by focusing solely on the gimmicky ways it can be distinct rather than the nuanced realities that make it already great. This imbalanced focus holds it back, as just like the doctor at its center, NBC’s Brilliant Minds has a hard time recognizing the people and plots that could make it the uniquely exceptional show it so clearly wants to be.

‘Brilliant Minds’ Is the Rare Medical Drama That Puts Patients First
While its basic premise doesn’t stray too far from the usual fare, Brilliant Minds’ distinctive elements make it an interesting take on your usual medical show. The series follows Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto), an accomplished neurologist whose focus on his patients’ well-being over anything else has gotten him fired from most of the hospitals in New York. Extreme tactics combined with his prosopagnosia — the neurological inability to recognize faces — have left him as a “lone wolf” (pun intended). Luckily, his old colleague, Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry), convinces the man to head up her hospital’s neurology department, where he meets his new group of fiery interns and encounters various medical cases (about one per episode) all under the watchful eye of the hospital’s director, his estranged mother Dr. Muriel Landon (Donna Murphy). Many of these plot aspects may ring strikingly similar to shows viewers have seen before, but within the first ten minutes of the pilot, this series makes it clear that it cares just as much about putting the patient first as the doctor at its center does.

It’s rare to see true experimentation in serialized medical dramas, which may leave many watchers shocked once they encounter Brilliant Minds’ radical approach of bringing them into the minds of the patients onscreen. So often, programs in this genre are dragged down by their own jargon, the non-medical professionals watching often disregarding the hospital speak — and because of this, the severity of each situation — because they don’t really understand what the words mean and the logistics of each person’s ailment. This show still features that language, but combines it with experimental camera work and mind-bending sequences to bring viewers into the minds of the people Wolf treats in each episode. It’s one thing to hear about a woman who feels like she doesn’t have control over her own body, but by using fantastic digital effects to portray how terrifying this would actually be, the series makes watchers experience this terrifying situation from her point of view. It shocks audiences with this abrupt change from its usual grounded style, establishing a strong sense of empathy that drives viewers to care as much about these people getting better as the doctors trying to help them onscreen. It’s not only a resonant tactic that truly elevates the entire concept, but it highlights where Brilliant Minds’ true excellence lies: its people (well, most of them).

‘Brilliant Minds’ Deserves Time To Grow

While any series with episodic narratives relies on guest actors, no show in recent memory has gathered as effective a troupe of these one-episode performances as Brilliant Minds. These momentary cast members create some of the program’s most poignant moments; scenes like a grandfather with Alzheimer’s remembering his family through music, or a mother denying her children because she no longer recognizes them, create heartwrenching moments in each episode. These guest spots aren’t the only great performances, as the entire ensemble excels at communicating these harsh topics, with the real standout being Ashleigh LaThrop’s optimistic intern, Ericka Kinney. LaThrop’s portrayal of the stressed-out, constantly exhausted yet passionate medical professional adds beautiful gravity to a plot that features many surreal concepts. She showcases the riveting nature of reality, her measured approach offering a truly endearing entry-point character for audiences to root for — unfortunately, though, this stellar performance helps highlight where Brilliant Minds’ biggest problem lies. Instead of these very real characters and the often mind-bending experiences that the medical field entails, the series can’t help but focus on the elements that it thinks make it unique (when all it really does is make it unrelatable).

The biggest offender of this is our leading man, with the writing trying so hard to make Dr. Oliver Wolf your next favorite TV doctor that it often excuses his rude, needlessly edgy behavior as the signs of a titular “brilliant mind.” The show tries to convey that his facial blindness complicates his ability to connect with others, a legitimate aspect of this disability, but rather than dig into this isolation, it supplements the story with punchy plot hooks and more gimmicks to try and distinguish itself. This doesn’t only show up with his facial blindness; Wolf’s constant critique of how unjust the medical system is could go a long way to make him more sympathetic, but, except for a few throwaway comments, the series seems reluctant to dig into these very real inequities that are apparently its main character’s driving force. The season is littered with things like this, from painting one of the interns’ medical conditions as some kind of superpower to making “WitchTok” a core element of one of its episodes, taking the focus away from the human lives at its center to try out some new way of being distinct. It falls into the tired trope of throwing some new wild thing into the story to keep the plot “exciting” (something that dramas have been called out for decades for doing). And, because it chooses to focus on the ways viewers can’t relate to it, rather than the many ways they can, Brilliant Minds holds itself back from being a truly one-of-a-kind medical drama.

Brilliant Minds absolutely deserves more time to tell its story. More episodes could see the series working out these early kinks and beginning to prioritize the facets of itself that resonate with audiences. Its way of narratively putting viewers into patients’ minds creates a startlingly empathetic showcase of medical hardship, with audiences easily seeing themselves within these nuanced portrayals of injury as well as the emotional stress of trying to help others heal. But first, the series needs to realize that its overreliance on quirky characterizations only hinders all the great elements it already has. It needs to understand what elements of this premise work and hopefully use that to inform the main character we’re supposed to be rooting for. That is what will make it a medical drama like no other, but until it does this, Brilliant Minds will just be a show that can’t recognize what already makes it great.

Brilliant Minds premieres September 23 on NBC and is available to stream on Peacock in the U.S.

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