Fans of the Zachary Quinto-led medical drama series Brilliant Minds have been bracing for a hiatus during its on-going second season, as the NBC primetime schedule is set to be full of programming from the 2026 Winter Olympics… but those same fans have been now given new reason to worry about the future of the show, as it is now being reported that the last six episodes of the run no longer appear on the network’s upcoming schedule.
This news comes via Variety, which suggests that there may be some bad news waiting on the horizon for the cast and filmmakers behind Brilliant Minds, which debuted in fall 2024. While there was a plan in place for the series to return on the 2026 TV schedule in the immediate aftermath of the aforementioned multinational ice-and-snow–centric sporting event, those plans have apparently changed behind the scenes. While the show has traditionally aired on Monday nights in the 10 ET/PT timeslot, that space on the schedule is now going to be occupied by the singing game show The Voice: Battle of Champions.
The trade’s sources say that there is no current plan for the airing of Brilliant Minds’ next six episodes, but they aren’t being permanently shelved; they will premiere either later in the spring or during the summer. The fourteenth episode of Season 2, “The Invisible Man,” premiered this past Monday.
The reason this is happening can probably be predicted: it’s about the ratings. Viewership for Brilliant Minds Season 2 has been in decline since the premiere in late September. Cited Nielsen Live+7 data says the debut was viewed by 3.67 million viewers, while the twelfth episode of the season (the most recent episode with available audience data) was watched by only 2.6 million people. All of those numbers are considerably down from the 4.2 million who watched the Season 1 finale at the start of 2025.
It should be said at this point that Brilliant Minds is not cancelled, as that official decision has not been made. There are other shows that have had extended mid-season hiatuses and returned a new run. That being said, you don’t have to be an extreme pessimist to recognize that this isn’t great news. If you’re a regular watcher, you may want to start rallying other fans to start more fervently expressing love for the show and suggesting friends, family and co-workers to check it out.
Created by Degrassi: The Next Generation, Lost Girl and Riverdale producer Michael Grassi, Brilliant Minds centers on Zachary Quinto’s Dr. Olivier Wolf – a neurology physician with prosopagnosia, which is a cognitive disorder that hinders his ability to recognize faces. Should you be curious to check it out, every episode of the show is available to stream now with a Peacock subscription.
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