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 physician Oliver Wolf, following “Dr. Wolf and his team at Bronx General as they delve into medical mysteries of the mind,” per 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, with Season 2 premiering in September 2025 and running for 14 episodes before NBC pulled it off the schedule in February as viewership dropped off. The series will return with its remaining six episodes beginning on May 27.
Along 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 alongside 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 junior college cheerleading. In the series, a celebrated cheerleading coach (Jenn Lyon) was fired after being caught drinking with her team. She wound up coaching at a junior college in Oklahoma, where she hoped to put together a team that could win the national championship.
The show had its debut back in November, with the now series finale airing in March. The show was mostly well received by critics, but failed to find a wide enough audience to justify 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” hailed from Jeff Astrof and Liz Astrof, who served as writers and executive producers. Jeff Blitz directed multiple episodes, including the pilot, and served as executive producer. Dana Honor and Monica Aldama were also executive producers on the show. Universal Television was the studio.
With these cancellations, the only NBC comedy awaiting word on a second season is the midseason entry “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” starring Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe. The sophomore drama “The Hunting Party” is also still on the bubble.
For the first time in years, NBC has also ordered several pilots in contention for the 2026-2027 broadcast season. Those include a reboot of “The Rockford Files” starring David Boreanaz and a PI comedy from Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici. Those pilots in particular are seen as strong contenders for series orders, while the network is also considering a number of other procedural and comedy pilots.
