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Brilliant Minds Star Tamberla Perry Also Can't Believe These Medical Mysteries Are Real
Season 1 has challenged Dr. Carol a lot, but what episode challenged Tamberla Perry?
If you watch NBC's hit medical drama Brilliant Minds and find yourself disbelieving of the bizarre and mystifying neurological cases that roll into Bronx General Hospital every week... know that actress Tamberla Perry is right there with you.
The medical drama follows actor Zachary Quinto as he portrays Dr. Oliver Wolf, an eccentric neurologist tasked with diagnosing and treating their patients every week. Wolf is assisted by Bronx General's Chief of Psychiatry Dr. Carol Pierce (Perry) and their team of neurology interns whom they mentor.
Even with a full season of episodes under her belt, Perry recently told NBC Insider that she continues to be flabbergasted by the cases they present, which largely are plucked right from the non-fiction case studies compiled by famed author and neurologist Dr. Oliver Wolf Sacks (1933-2015).
RELATED: Brilliant Minds Will Return with Special Two-Episode Finale. Here's When
"I wish there was a way that at the front of every episode, we could say, 'This is based off of a real case' because it's so hard for people to believe that these things are happening," Perry said about adding a disclaimer on their series. "Because this stuff is real!"
While we recently covered how eventful this season has been for Perry's character, we also wanted to know what character the actress feels has been most challenging to Dr. Pierce and what episode personally fascinated her the most. Read on for more.
How the cast now inspires the Brilliant Minds episodes
With only two more episodes to go in Season 1 of Brilliant Minds, Perry was quick to praise how the series writers have woven the personalities and dynamics amongst the show's cast into their scripts.
"They're on set with us every single day," Perry said. "They see the relationships that are forming between Zach and I, between our interns individually, and then the interns' relationships with us. They see that. And when they see those things, it gives them ideas of how stories, storylines, and dialogue can go. I know a lot of the dialogue that has been shaped in the last few episodes is based on what we see personally on set from some of the relationships that have been built, so that's really great."
RELATED: Zachary Quinto Knows Brilliant Minds' Cases Will Make You Cry: "That's Good!"
All season long, Dr. Pierce has been in the trenches with Dr. Wolf trying to teach and cultivate the next generation of great neurologists and doctors. But it's certainly an eclectic bunch of students that Pierce has had to contend with.
Asked which intern she thinks challenges Pierce the most, Perry readily answered, "That would be Dr. Kinney, Ashleigh's character."
Dr. Ericka Kinney, played by Ashleigh LaThrop, is the go-getter of the four interns, and has the smarts to question both Wolf and Pierce.
"All of these characters are cast so perfectly," Perry said. "I've known Ashleigh for many, many years. We did theater together in Chicago. I think I found out after I was cast that she was playing Dr. Kinney. But it was perfect casting. She is as smart as Ericka Kinney is. The way she thinks, the way she presents things, the way she processes, she would be the one that would challenge Carol.
"Now, Carol would win," Perry clarified with a laugh. "But she would be the one that would challenge her."
Perry's favorite episode: "The Girl Who Cried Pregnant"
When all is said and done, Season 1 will wrap with 13 episodes in total. All have been so unique that Perry said it's hard to pick favorites, but the upcoming Episode 12 and Episode 6, "The Girl Who Cried Pregnant," moved her the most.
"That was the one where the girls thought they were all pregnant," she recalled. "When you read something like that, you're like, 'This is crazy. No way seven little girls walk into a hospital and they all [think] they're pregnant.'"
However, that case was based on one Sacks treated in real life, and was similar to one that the Brilliant Minds on-set doctor/consultant also treated.
"For at least more than half of the episodes, I was able to have the luxury of speaking with a psychiatrist about how to navigate the cases and how to navigate the patients," Perry shared. "And she had actually had an experience with this exact thing, where a little girl thought that she was pregnant. It was very interesting to find out how she navigated that with the girl and her mom, and how I could actually use her first-hand experience in that episode."
Brilliant Minds is taking a short break over the holidays and will resume in the New Year on Monday, January 6, 2025, for a 2-hour season finale in its usual time slot at 10/9c on NBC.
Episodes are available to stream on Peacock the next day.
