Will ‘Brilliant Minds’ Return for Season 2?

It’s been months since the absolutely brilliant first season of NBC’s new medical drama starring Zachary Quinto aired its finale, and we’re still waiting to find out if it will be back for a second. (We sure hope it is after that last episode!)

Brilliant Minds is inspired by the extraordinary life and work of world-famous author and physician Oliver Sacks and follows a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist (Quinto’s Dr. Oliver Wolf) and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier – the human mind – while grappling with their own relationships and mental health.

Read on for everything we know about a Season 2, including what it could entail, who could return, and more.

Is Brilliant Minds renewed for Season 2?

NBC has yet to announce the future of the show. The last two episodes of Season 1 aired back-to-back on January 6, 2025.

At the time, showrunner Michael Grassi told TV Insider about a potential second season, “All I can say is that we love the show so much, and we’re so happy that you’re enjoying it. And fingers are firmly, firmly crossed that we get to keep telling these stories and get to keep making the show.”

Who’s in the Brilliant Minds cast?

In addition to Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf, Brilliant Minds stars Tamberla Perry as Dr. Carol Pierce, Ashleigh LaThrop as Ericka Kinney, Alex MacNicoll as Dr. Van Markus, Aury Krebs as Dr. Dana Dang, Spence Moore II as Dr. Jacob Nash, Teddy Sears as Dr. Josh Nichols, and Donna Murphy as Dr. Muriel Landon. The last two episodes of Season 1 introduced Mandy Patinkin as Oliver’s thought-to-be-dead father, Dr. Noah Wolf.

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Where did Brilliant Minds Season 1 leave off?

Due to his face blindness, Oliver had no idea that he’d crossed paths with his father at the scene of a building collapse in Episode 12. It was at the end of the episode that we learned who he really was, when Muriel found he’d broken into her house and was waiting for her. In the finale, they then had to tell Oliver the truth, that because Noah felt he was a danger to his son (he’s bipolar), after leaving him on a camping trip, he thought it would be best if he was “dead.” At the end of the finale, Oliver met up with Noah, who revealed he was sick and needed Oliver’s help because no one could figure out why.

Meanwhile, Oliver and Josh’s relationship seemed to be going well. Josh told Oliver he’s falling for him and invited him to a gala at which he was being honored, only for the shocking revelation about his father to throw Oliver for a loop. He snapped at Josh and skipped out on the gala to meet up with his dad. Plus, Ericka, after surviving the building collapse (but one of the other occupants in the elevator she was trapped in falling to her death), was sneaking her friend and new roommate Dana’s anxiety meds. Furthermore, Carol learned that a complaint had been filed against her, for breaching an ethical code about a conflict of interest in continuing to treat a patient (the woman with whom her husband had an affair). Muriel told her she had to place her on administrative leave as a result.

What would happen in Brilliant Minds Season 2?

TV Insider spoke in-depth with showrunner Michael Grassi in January about the two-part finale (read the full Q&As here and here).

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When it comes to his father’s health, “Oliver is about to take on his greatest medical mystery yet and potentially his most challenging patient yet. So I feel like him and his father have a lot to work out, and at the same time he is going to help him deal with something that nobody else has been able to help him deal with,” said Grassi. “There’s a lot going through Wolf’s mind right now. It’s like, my dad’s saying that, is it a way for him to get back into my life? Does he really need me? Is he here because he wants to restart a relationship? Is he just here because he needs help getting better? I think it’ll bring up a lot that we need to work through and unpack in a Season 2.” Patinkin would return, though there is a question of in what capacity.

Looking ahead to a future for Oliver and Josh and the latter not responding in kind about his feelings, Grassi explained, “Wolf has strong feelings for Josh, but like everything he does, he’s not going to always show it in a conventional manner. I think not saying it back in that moment is not necessarily an indication that he doesn’t feel the same way. … I think that when Wolf does communicate his feelings, it’s going to be in his unique way.”

He acknowledged that there’s “a lot to unpack and work out” for the couple. “I think also by Wolf not showing up that event, it goes back to one of their earlier fights that they had, which is, I don’t think you see me as your equal. I think it brought up some of those feelings for Josh a little bit as well,” Grassi said. “This was really important to him. And it’s like, why isn’t Wolf just talking to him? Why are you pushing me away? What else is going on? So obviously they have a lot to work through, but that’s going to come with some complications and some surprises for sure.”

Carol is going to have a fight ahead of her, Grassi warned: “She’s going to fight like hell. And I also think she wants to know how this got out. Was it Morris [Rainbow Sun Francks], was it Alison [Julia Chan]? Was it one of the interns? Who did this? And how did it get out there? So I think there’s a bit of a mystery going into our next season, and how she’s going to sort of fight for her job and her livelihood now that she’s a single mom in a way is going to be really interesting to see how she navigates this very tricky situation.”

In general, a Season 2 would feature “more medical mystery, more drama, and I think more of what we saw this season, which was big events and continuing to explore all of our characters and continuing to explore the human mind, which is the final frontier of medicine,” teased Grassi. “It’s still a mystery and there’s still so much more for us to unpack and to learn.”