First premiering in September, NBC’sBrilliant Mindsdropped its fall finale on Monday, December 9. The show has taken a brief hiatus but is set to return after the holidays with season 1, episode 12, “The Doctor Whose World Collapsed,” airing on Monday, January 6 at 10 p.m. ET. Inspired by the life of Oliver Sacks, the medical drama follows Dr. Wolf (Zachary Quinto,Star Trek) as he explores the human mind alongside his team of neurology interns.
Bronx General Hospital introduces a new face in “The First Responder,” when EMT Katie Rodriguez begins displaying life-threatening symptoms. Mishel Prada, who plays the unexpected patient, shares that the storyline helped her recognize the incredible contributions that emergency medical technicians make on the job. In addition to Quinto,the main cast includesTamberla Perry, Ashleigh LaThrop, Alex MacNicoll, Aury Krebs, Spence Moore II, Teddy Sears, and Donna Murphy.
Brilliant Minds Episode 9’s Case Is Based On Real-Life: Oliver Sacks' True Story Explained
Brilliant Minds episode 9 is based on the real-life Oliver Sacks case study of a colorblind painter, but the show takes a few creative liberties.
ScreenRantinterviews Prada about reuniting with showrunner Michael GrassiafterRiverdale, the struggles her character faces as an EMT, and a potential romance between Katie and Dana.
Prada Was A Fan Of Oliver Sacks' Work Prior To Joining Brilliant Minds
“I got one of his books, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, when I was 13.”
What makesBrilliant Mindsstand out from the other projects you’ve worked on?
Mishel Prada: The show is based on the work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, and I actually am a huge fan of his work. I got one of his books, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, when I was 13, and I was a huge fan of his work. So much of what he did is create an empathetic look at mental health. When Michael Grassi came to my team and brought this as an opportunity, I was just really excited.
I was a fan of Michael’s, obviously, we worked on Riverdale together, and then the story that it was based off of. I had never done a medical drama before, so it wasn’t something that I was going to be like, “Oh, yes, easy. I know how to do this.” But I was just such a huge fan of Dr. Oliver Sacks' work that I was excited to bring that story to light.
It’s incredible how that came full circle for you.
Mishel Prada: I was like, “Wait, what?” And also, randomly, they sent the pilot to me to watch it and see if I was interested, and I always have a friend watch it because I’m always looking at things so critically, he also had facial blindness. I actually didn’t know that Dr. Sacks had facial blindness, and I was like, “What are the chances?” And he was all emotional. He was like, “I’ve actually never seen it described this way.” So facial blindness representation for the win.
How much were you told about Katie’s backstory outside what was written, and how much did you come up with on your own?
Mishel Prada: A lot of it was on the page. I think she really does speak a lot in some of her monologues about what her past is. You just bring as much of your own experience to that. I definitely have seen so many of the people in my life, and I’ve had that experience where you give so much of yourself that eventually you wear yourself down.
That was a big part of her pathology and her backstory and wanting to really make sure that I honored that experience. I know a lot of us can relate to that and finding what balance is like and taking time for yourself and taking care of yourself, and then giving off of the overflow of the abundance that you’ve given yourself.
Katie Struggles To Accept Help From Others In Brilliant Minds
“That’s the beautiful character arc that we see with her when she lets herself be taken care of and doesn’t feel shamed for it.”
Can you talk a bit about how the trauma of getting shot on the job has impacted her?
Mishel Prada: A big part of when we see her make that decision to go and help this person at a point where it might not have been the safest thing, we see how she’s constantly putting herself on the line to take care of people. That is one of the basic tenets of who this person is. We see that manifestation happen when she is shot, and she refuses to really let herself sit in that pain and is like, “No, I need to get back to helping other people,” because I think it’s too hard for her to accept help.
How do you think that experience has changed how she approaches her work?
Mishel Prada: She’s injecting herself with adrenaline, with steroids. I think she’s still rip-roaring ready to go. We had a wonderful EMT consultant who really admitted to the fact that so many EMTs essentially are adrenaline junkies. Getting in the ambulance, rushing to the site, and helping people, and getting them into a lifesaving situation is obviously incredible. I had no idea, truly. I guess I just had never really sat and thought about how these EMTs are real-life superheroes just traversing our cities, saving lives. It’s just such an incredible thing that they do.
How was it to give Katie that moment of joy in the ice bath?
Mishel Prada: That’s the beautiful character arc that we see with her when she lets herself be taken care of and doesn’t feel shamed for it. You see her actually being much more comfortable to build community, and she’s building community with these doctors that she’s obviously known for a while. We had a lot of fun shooting that because really getting to take those moments of joy and playfulness and letting her revel in that was, I think, really important. And it’s a good reminder for all of us that we all need that.
Prada Hopes Brilliant Minds Explores A Katie And Dana Romance
“I’m a romantic at heart, so I’m always going to champion a little romance.”
There’s clearly some chemistry between Katie and Dana. Is that a romance you’d like to see take shape?
Mishel Prada: Yeah. Why not? I’m a romantic at heart, so I’m always going to champion a little romance whenever there’s an opportunity. So we’ll see. But I’d like to see where that goes.
Katie and Dr. Wolf have some great interactions. How was fleshing out that onscreen dynamic?
Mishel Prada: Dr. Wolf is somebody who has his own demons, so I know that he takes a bit of what he has experienced and is able to see that. It’s why he’s able to call it out. He also approaches his work with a lot of empathy, as Katie does. So I really do feel like they come together as people who can see each other, not just as their professions, a doctor and an EMT, they see each other and see themselves in each other.
I think that that’s really important for the storylines and for each of these characters to really explore what that’s like because they each come to their jobs, not as professionals dealing with clients or patients, but as humans dealing with other humans. And I think that that’s a lot of what we see when they’re interacting with each other in these scenes.
You shared the screen with a lot of different cast members, but is there an actor you’d like to have more scenes with in the future?
Mishel Prada: I feel like I really did get to experience so much of the cast. I love seeing the ensemble together. I think that that’s always the most fun for me as a viewer and as an actor. I think that that would be really fun to get to be much more part of the ensemble and their dynamic and see what she adds to already a very tight-knit group.
Michael Grassi serves as creator, writer, and executive producer
Inspired by the extraordinary life and work of world-famous author and physician Oliver Sacks, “Brilliant Minds” follows a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier – the human mind – while grappling with their own relationships and mental health.
Check out our other interviews with theBrilliant Mindscast:
Brilliant Mindsreturns to NBC on Monday, January 6 at 10 p.m. ET.
Brilliant Minds
Brilliant Minds is a 2024 series about an eccentric neurologist with face blindness, offering a unique perspective on patient care. The story follows him and his team of young interns as they tackle complex psychological cases, all while managing intricate personal and professional relationships.
