Zachary Quinto, the star of NBC‘s new medical procedural Brilliant Minds (previously titled Dr. Wolf), said he was initially hesitant to return to network television, especially given its contractual basis. However, the Heroes actor signed on to the series, citing a changing dynamic between streaming and network models.
“The conversation around network versus streaming has shifted, and the industry has experienced a return to [a type of] television it had departed pretty significantly from,” he said in a recent cover story with Entertainment Weekly. “There’s something about the reliability of [network procedurals]. Audiences are more interested in appointment television than they were for a little while.”
Though cord-cutting remains prevalent and streaming shows dominate ratings, audiences have been vocally disillusioned with SVOD-based services, especially when their profit models lead to the cancellations of niche series and increasingly expensive shows gestate for longer times in between new seasons (at times dropped in frustrating batch releases). This scrutiny has led to a rising phenomenon of subscriber churn, as buzzy blockbuster series can’t keep viewers engaged for longer than their release schedules.
Per Nielsen, broadcast and cable TV still account for more than 50% of TV consumption annually, with network shows consistently outpacing cable ones. Additionally, there have been breakthrough signs of viewers yearning for long-running network-like series, such as the unexpected rewatching of Suits, which broke streaming rates for months last year.
“The idea of signing on to something that could go on for years gave me pause,” Quinto admitted, though he said that he was hopeful a medical drama could have a place in the ever-changing TV landscape. (Hey, just look at the continued reign of Grey’s Anatomy.)
Brilliant Minds, based on the revolutionary life of queer neurologist Oliver Sacks, follows Quinto’s Dr. Wolf and a team of interns as they use unconventional methods to help solve their patients’ ailments, all while wrestling with their own mental health and relationships. The show, which got a series order last October, hails from writer and executive producer Michael Grassi and director/EP Lee Toland Krieger.
“This idea of how far he is willing to go to honor his patients, to help them rediscover some degree of integrity and dignity in their lives — I was fascinated by the dynamics of that storytelling,” Quinto said. “That’s what brought me back to network TV.”
