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All About Dr. Ericka Kinney, the "Real Quarterback" of Brilliant Minds' Intern Team
Dr. Ericka Kinney is an ambitious go-getter who likes to do things by the book.
Brilliant Minds’ Dr. Ericka Kinney may not have a college football past like her fellow intern Dr. Jacob Nash, but she still considers herself the “real quarterback” of the team of interns.
Ericka, played by Ashleigh LaThrop, is just one of four interns given the task of helping the brilliant, yet emotionally distant Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) in NBC’s new medical drama Brilliant Minds.
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And although we’re still getting to know the team tasked with solving some of Bronx General Hospital’s most perplexing neurological mysteries, we’ve already been given a few clues about just what makes Ericka tick.
Who is Ericka Kinney?
Ericka already established herself in the series premiere as an optimistic go-getter, taking the lead when Dr. Wolf purposely forgot to bring his team along on a patient home visit.
After all, Ericka was the one who boldly chased him down in the parking lot and gave him a run-down of what to expect from the other interns in his charge.
“And what about you?” an amused Wolf asked.
“I’m the one who always works the hardest, the one you’re gonna want around. I’m the real quarterback,” she told him.
Wolf made it clear shortly after taking the post at the hospital that he wasn’t eager to take any interns under his wing, and when the interns learned they’d be getting a new boss with a reputation for being difficult to connect with ... not everyone was thrilled.
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But Kinney chose to look on the positive side of the team’s new predicament.
“Apparently he’s a genius,” she told her coworkers. “We might actually learn something for a change.”
She was also quick to put Jacob in his place after the former college football player complained about being forced to investigate a patient named Hannah’s past with only a computer or cell phone at his fingertips.
“I didn’t spend four years in med school to do clerical work for a lost cause,” he complained.
“And I didn’t spend four years in med school to listen to you talk trash,” Ericka shot back. “Yes, Wolf is strange. Yes, Hannah’s situation seems hopeless, but we’re in the business of understanding the human brain, especially when they’re strange, especially when they’re hopeless so stop judging and start doing your God damn job.”
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While Kinney may have initially embraced her eccentric new boss, that doesn’t mean it will all be smooth sailing for the first year intern who, according to a character profile, “has always lived her life by the books and held herself to a standard of perfection.”
“Now with Dr. Wolf as her new attending, Ericka’s thrust into the most unpredictable environment possible and must adapt to survive,” the description reads.
Just what that means for Kinney during the rest of the season is yet to be seen, but don’t expect this doctor to be the first to rebel against her new mentor.
New episodes of Brilliant Minds premiere on Mondays on NBC at 10/9c and are available to stream on Peacock.
