*We spoke to acclaimed executive producer and director DeMane Davis about her experience working on NBC’s exciting new series, “Brilliant Minds.”
In our exclusive interview, Davis unpacked her creative process and offered insight into the man who inspired the show, renowned neurologist and author Oliver Sacks. “Brilliant Minds” follows a groundbreaking neurologist and his team of interns as they explore the complexities of the human brain while navigating their own personal struggles.
Zachary Quinto leads the cast which includes Tamberla Perry, Ashleigh LaThrop, Alex MacNicoll, Aury Krebs, Spence Moore II, Teddy Sears, and Donna Murphy. “Brilliant Minds” debuted September 23 with new episodes premiering weekly on Monday at 10/9c and available the next day on Peacock. The series garnered 9.2 million cross-platform viewers for its premiere episode, Deadline reports.
Davis, who is not only returning to NBC’s “Found” this season, played a key role in the network’s groundbreaking medical drama and she told us all about it in the Q&A below. (This interview was edited and condensed for clarity).
When you take on a new project like Brilliant Minds as an executive producer and a director, how do you approach the creative process?
DeMane Davis: What’s unique about this medical drama is, first of all, it’s based on a real person, Dr. Oliver Sacks, who was a famous and beloved author, scientist, and neuroscientist. He was depicted in Awakenings, the movie with Robin Williams and Robert De Niro that Penny Marshall directed. I saw that movie when I was little. I’ve also read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. I’ve read some of Dr. Sacks’ work. Many doctors in the medical field, in the neuro field, say that they got into this work because of Dr. Oliver Sacks. So that’s really unique. And then the other thing that’s unique is he focused on the patient. I went to the doctor last year and, the guy, before he even saw me, he said, so we can give you a prescription for this. I’m like, you haven’t even seen me. I said no, thank you. And then he saw me and he was like, you know, you’re fine. But I’m going to leave you this prescription anyway. And I’m like, dude, what is happening? This is not what I came here for. What Dr. Oliver Sacks did is he focused on the patient instead of the disease and he destigmatized mental illness. He made house calls.
He went to the patient and he said, okay, let me see how you’re living. Let me see the conditions that you’re in and what inspired the disease, but also, he made it a point to find ways for his patient to live the best life possible. Michael Grassi created the show and he was like, I want to find a way to put the viewer into the head, the heart, the mind, the body of the patient. So we do this thing called a patient perspective, cause Dr. Oliver Sacks puts himself in their shoes to see it. As a viewer, you get to witness what they’re experiencing.
If someone has a broken arm, it’s very easy to see they have a broken arm. You might hold the door open for them because they got groceries, you might help them and you don’t even know them. When someone has a mental illness, you can’t see it. It’s harder to see. It’s hard to sympathize sometimes. People distance themselves from it. So what’s exciting to me about this show is we’re visualizing what it is that patients are going through. We’re showing an approach and hopefully promoting understanding.
Are there any particular story arcs or themes you’re excited about viewers experiencing this season?
I’m not going to give too much away, but as an executive producer, I was there from the second episode to the last. I directed the finale and also the third episode. There are times when I feel I’ve been fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to work on shows I would watch. Every show that I’m on, I’m like, oh, I would watch this show. So this is a show that I would watch. The episode that I directed is about a character whose mother had Alzheimer’s and my mother had Alzheimer’s dementia. So that’s very close to me when he talks about what it’s like when she starts to forget.
It made me think of what it’s like when I forget things, and I’m constantly like, okay, my mom had it. I have to be in preventative care, thinking about that all the time. So visually, you get put into his shoes. Every condition that you’re seeing on the show is a real condition. It is a real disease. It is something that someone has really gone through. In some cases we use actual cases, Dr. Sacks’ cases.
We had someone from the foundation who was on set when we were filming. It was wonderful to get their seal of approval. We use a lot of his stories and the character played by Zachary Quinto, a lot of who he is and what he does, it’s what Oliver Sacks really did. He rode a motorcycle, he swam in the Hudson river. He would break his patients out and give them a day out, or try to help them in a way that I wish more doctors would.
Speaking of Zachary, what kind of creative energy does he bring to the set?
He completely embodies this role. I feel this role was made for him. I mean, it’s a real person. So it’s hard to say that, but to have the combination of who Dr. Oliver Sacks was, what he did, how he walks in the world, with kindness, with respect, with creativity, with wanting to understand other people, that’s exactly who Zach is. He’s played a lot of villains, but he’s excited about this show being light and him being able to play a character based on a real person who brings light. So the creative process with him was fantastic. I think that he must have a photographic memory because he would come to set and he would sometimes say, okay, what does this mean again? Anything that he questioned would always make the material better. It would make the scene better. It would make the emotion better. He was a wonderful creative partner.
What do you hope resonates most with viewers as they start to unpack these episodes? Are there any messages or social issues you aim to highlight through the storylines?
I think having kindness for one another, and looking out for one another, if it can promote some understanding, I think that would be my biggest wish. So that someone who might be experiencing something might let someone in on their experience, might say that they need help so they can get help. Many episodes have this, but particularly in episode 105, you have a person who doesn’t want to admit what it is that is happening but is experiencing it. And that ends up causing him to lash out in different ways, but it’s because of this condition, and only by sharing it, can we understand it and can he release it. I think if this show can promote that understanding, can tell someone that it’s okay to share that information, and can make people who are experiencing these different things that are real things that they’re going through, can make them understand that they are not alone. I think that that’s everything.
Lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring directors and producers who wish to also make their mark in the entertainment industry?
I would say, there’s no reason not to make anything. I would say that your phone is a studio. I would say that your IG, your YouTube channel, that’s your distribution system. I would say, don’t wait to make something, make something on your own, and know that the opportunities are going to come. Don’t get frustrated if you’re not where you think that you should be, do everything you can with everything that you have that’s in front of you and make something. And also very important, watch other people’s work and please pay for it. Don’t steal it… watch other television shows, watch other, films, pay for that because you would want someone to pay for your films and your TV shows when you make them.
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Craig David Talks New Single, Upcoming Album and 2025 Tour | EUR Video Exclusive
