Summary
Zachary Quinto plays Dr. Oliver Wolf on Brilliant Minds, a new drama on NBC. The actor is known for his work on Heroes, Star Trek and American Horror Story.
Since Heroes ended, streaming entered the landscape, pushing network TV into a state of decline. Quinto is hopeful that a doctor will be able to keep network TV on the path to recovery.
Streaming's share of total TV usage time has grown year-over-year (hitting a new high of 38.8 percent in May) There's signs it could be slowing down as resentment grows over the habit of most streamers releasing their originals in small batches, sometimes years apart.
There are plenty of shows that answer that remit if you're into lawyers or cops, but a medical drama has barely cracked Nielsen's broadcast top 10 once in the last five years.
Dr. Kildare was the first true hit in the TV genre. St. Elsewhere launched the careers of Denzel Washington, Mark Harmon, Howie Mandel.
'Brilliant Minds' was first aired on NBC in 1994. The series has since become one of the most-talked about medical series.
Brilliant Minds is the latest NBC medical drama. Showrunner David Grassi grew up watching ER. He sees it as less of a successor to that medical juggernaut.
Grassi is openly gay. The notion of an LGBTQ+ lead on a network medical drama is also what drew Berlanti to the project. As for Quinto, he's most intrigued that Dr. Wolf's sexuality isn't the focal point of his story.
Berlanti and Warner Bros. Television optioned the life rights to 'Brilliant Minds' Sacks died in 2015, but Grassi fell in love with his work and his life.
Brilliant Minds wants to turn people's attention to the ongoing global mental health crisis. "It can explore issues of mental health, anxiety, and things a lot of people are experiencing in a way that normalizes it," says creator.
With mental health on the brain, maybe Brilliant Minds can do something network TV used to do best — bring audiences together. Many have surmised that the rise of streaming platforms reflects the ever-more fractured nature of our culture. Quinto is optimistic that a show like his can cut through that noise to address an issue that touches all of us.
