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Who Is Dr. Carol Pierce? Tamberla Perry's Brilliant Minds Psychiatrist Explained
Let's take a closer look at Zachary Quinto's co-star on NBC's new medical drama.
In NBC's new medical drama Brilliant Minds, Zachary Quinto (Heroes, Star Trek) plays neurologist Dr. Oliver Wolf, a total maverick medical professional willing to break all the rules if it means helping his patients. While he may sound like a spiritual successor to Hugh Laurie's Gregory House, Wolf is way more empathetic, having suffered from facial blindness since childhood.
Nevertheless, we see just how radical his methods are in the opening sequence of the series premiere when Dr. Wolf essentially kidnaps a dementia patient named Harold (André De Shields) in the hopes of briefly bringing back the man's memory, even if it's for a brief period. The risk pays off big-time, with Harold temporarily getting to feel human again at his granddaughter's wedding, but Oliver is fired as a result of such a highly unorthodox stunt.
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Dr. Wolf's subsequent unemployment is short-lived when an old friend and colleague, psychiatrist Dr. Carol Pierce (played by They Cloned Tyrone alumnus Tamberla Perry), shows up to offer him a job as the new head of the neurology department at Bronx General Hospital. He reluctantly accepts, effectively kicking off the main events of the show and sending Oliver on a collision course with his troubled past.
Dr. Carol Pierce, Explained
As Oliver's long-time friend and confidant (the two have known each other for 20 years and even attended medical school together), Dr. Pierce is, perhaps, the only professional left in New York City willing to tolerate Wolf's unusual tactics. At the same time, however, she isn't afraid to call Oliver out on his BS or psychoanalyze him when necessary.
"As I've gone through this journey of developing this character, I've realized that we are not as alike as I thought we were," Perry said during an interview with NBC Insider earlier in the summer. "In terms of the way we think, matters of the heart, and matters of the mind, we're not. I'm a very logical person. She handles things a lot with her heart, and that's often the way she treats her patients. She is unwavering. She is fiercely loyal."
While Oliver answers to Carol, both of them report directly to the hospital's Chief of Medicine, Dr. Muriel Landon (Donna Murphy), who just so happens to be Dr. Wolf's mother. It's why he initially pushed back on Carol's job offer; he had no desire to revisit the thorny relationship he shares with his mom, though the reason why the two characters are estranged remains to be seen. Based on the hints we've gotten so far, though, it seems to have something to do with Oliver's father, who suffered from mental illness.
New episodes of Brilliant Minds premiere on Mondays on NBC at 10/9c and are available to stream on Peacock.
