New Episodes of Popular Medical Drama 'Brilliant Minds' Delayed Indefinitely
There's a bit of drama involving a medical drama. NBC announced on Wednesday that, once the 2026 Winter Olympics are over, it would not be airing new episodes of the second season of Brilliant Minds as originally planned. Instead, the singing competition series The Voice will be two hours long when it returns for Season 29 on February 23.
Brilliant Minds, which stars Zachary Quinto as a brilliant but unconventional doctor, premiered in the fall of 2024. Inspired by the work of famed neurologist Oliver Sacks, the show was enough of a hit to return for a sophomore season. The first half of Season 2 began in September of last year before a mid-season hiatus at the start of December. New episodes resumed airing in January. The Winter Olympics, which NBC broadcasts, will take over the schedule for a little more than two weeks, but once they're over, fans of Brilliant Minds will have to wait to see what interesting cases Quinto's Dr. Wolf will face next.
The last episode of Brilliant Minds to air was the 14th episode of Season 2, "The Invisible Man," which premiered on Monday, February 2. There are six episodes remaining in the season, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC intends to air them later in the season or in the summer. Specific airdates have yet to be revealed.
THR also notes that Season 2 of Brilliant Minds doesn't have as many viewers as Season 1 did. The first season averaged 2.97 million viewers per episode while the second is down to 1.9 million on average, not counting streaming views.
The Voice Season 29 Will Replace Brilliant Minds on the Schedule
Instead of Brilliant Minds, NBC will come back after the Olympics with double-length episodes of The Voice, Now in its 29th season, The Voice will feature three professional musicians who will judge, draft, and eventually coach would-be singing stars to victory. John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, and Adam Levine, all of whom are veterans of The Voice, appear this season, which is being billed as a "Battle of the Champions," since all three have coached a contestant to victory before. There are also some rule changes and new competition elements compared to last season, which might explain why NBC wants to focus on The Voice coming off of the Olympics rather than the second half of a second season of a medical drama.