‘Brilliant Minds’ Off To Promising Start On NBC As Premiere Surpasses 9M Viewers

Brilliant Minds is off to a good start for NBC.

Michael Grassi’s medical drama has attracted 9.2M cross-platform viewers to its premiere episode since the September 23 debut, NBCUniversal says. That’s up 138% from the live + same-day audience of 3.9M.

The audience declined slightly for Episode 2, attracting 3.5M live + same-day viewers on Monday night, though that still was good enough to make it the top scripted show of the night across the broadcasters.

Actually, in the 18-49 demo, Brilliant Minds has seen the smallest Week 2 decline among the last five NBC drama debuts.

Brilliant Minds also had the third best debut for any NBC show on Peacock, coming in behind Found and Night Court — two shows that have demonstrated strong staying power since they premiered. In the six days post-premiere, Found had already surpassed 10M viewers after securing 3.8M in live + same-day.

In the coming weeks, it will become more clear whether Brilliant Minds will continue to perform for the network, especially as delayed viewing becomes more of a success indicator than same-day numbers.

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.