‘Brilliant Minds’ and ‘Stumble’ canceled at NBC
NBC has canceled the medical drama “Brilliant Minds” after two seasons and the mockumentary comedy “Stumble” after one season. Variety has learned.
‘Brilliant Minds’ is based on the books ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat’ and ‘An Anthropologist on Mars’ by Oliver Sacks. The series stars Zachary Quinto as neurology doctor Oliver Wolf, who “follows Dr. Wolf and his team at Bronx General as they delve into the medical mysteries of the mind,” according to the official logline. “Ultimately they come face to face with the question: who deserves care?”
Season 1 of “Brilliant Minds” ran from September 2024 to January 2025, while Season 2 premiered in September 2025 and ran for 14 episodes before NBC dropped it from the schedule in February as viewership declined. The series returns with the remaining six episodes airing on May 27.
Co-starring with Quinto, “Brilliant Minds” stars Tamberla Perry, Ashleigh LaThrop, Alex MacNicoll, Aury Krebs, Spence Moore II, Teddy Sears, Donna Murphy, John Clarence Stewart, Brian Altemus and Al Calderon.
Michael Grassi created the series and executive produces along with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman, Lee Toland Krieger, DeMane Davis, Jasmine Russ, Henrik Bastin, Jonathan Cavendish, Andy Serkis and Shefali Malhoutra.
“Stumble” was set in the world of high school cheerleading. In the series, a celebrated cheerleading coach (Jenn Lyon) was fired after being caught drinking with her team. She ended up coaching at a junior college in Oklahoma, where she hoped to put together a team that could win the national championship.
The show made its debut in November and the series finale aired in March. The show was mostly well received by critics, but failed to find a large enough audience to warrant its renewal.
Lyon led the cast along with Taran Killam, Ryan Pinkston, Jarrett Austin Brown, Anissa Borrego, Arianna Davis, Taylor Dunbar and Georgie Murphy. Kristin Chenoweth also appeared in a recurring role.
“Stumble” came from Jeff Astrof and Liz Astrof, who served as writers and executive producers. Jeff Blitz directed several episodes, including the pilot, and served as executive producer. Dana Honor and Monica Aldama also served as executive producers of the show. Universal Television was the studio.
With these cancellations, the only NBC comedy still awaiting a second season is the midseason entry “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” starring Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe. Sophomore drama “The Hunting Party” is also still up in the air.
For the first time in years, NBC has also ordered several pilots for the 2026-2027 broadcast season. These include a reboot of “The Rockford Files” starring David Boreanaz and a PI comedy from Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici. These pilots in particular are seen as strong contenders for series orders, with the network also considering a number of other procedural and comedy pilots.
