“Stumble” and “Brilliant Minds” won’t be returning to NBC.
As NBC approaches upfronts, the network decided to cancel freshman cheerleading comedy “Stumble” and medical drama “Brilliant Minds,” which is rolling out its second season.
The news comes a month and a half after “Stumble,” which was created by Jeff and Liz Astrof, aired its Season 1 finale in March. “Brilliant Minds,” which stars Zachary Quinto as a neurologist with prosopagnosia (face blindness), however, will finish airing its Season 2 episodes starting May 27.
The cancellations shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, with “Stumble” ranking as the network’s least-watched series this season and “Brilliant Minds” ranking as the least-watched drama series this season, per Nielsen live-plus-seven-day figures.
With the decisions, the series that remain on the bubble for NBC are “Law & Order,” “The Hunting Party” and “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.” They’ll be contending among the five drama pilots and three comedy pilots under consideration at NBC.
The series and/or the pilots moving forward for the 2026-27 season will be revealed at NBC’s upfronts in just over a week.
Helmed by Michael Grassi, “Brilliant Minds” follows Quinto’s Dr. Oliver Wolf, a neurologist whose unique life and skillset is loosely drawn from the acclaimed Oliver Sacks. The series, which is executive produced by Greg Berlanti, is the only medical drama to feature a gay lead, with Grassi pointing to NBC’s legacy of centering queer characters in series like “Will & Grace.”
Notably, “Brilliant Minds” saw the late Eric Dane play an ALS patient this season prior to Dane’s death.
“Stumble” stars Jenn Lyon as Coach Courteney Potter, who is determined to rally her newly recruited junior college cheer squad to win her record-breaking 15th championship and improve their lives along the way, per the official logline.
Additional cast for “Stumble” includes Taran Killam, Ryan Pinkston, Jarrett Austin Brown, Anissa Borrego, Arianna Davis, Taylor Dunbar and Georgie Murphy, with Kristin Chenoweth serving as recurring character.
