Trivia

In a September 2024 Entertainment Weekly article, Maureen Lee Lenker reported that this series and its main character are inspired by the life and work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, a renowned British neurologist and writer. Born in 1933 to a London Jewish family, both of his parents were doctors (his mother was one of the first female surgeons in England). In addition to his long career serving on the faculties of several New York-area medical schools and hospitals Sacks was a best-selling author of popular medical histories and case studies, including the collections The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars and the book Awakenings (an account of his attempts to treat encephalitis patients, this book was adapted into the eponymous 1990 movie in which Robin Williams portrayed Sacks). Like Quinto and the character he plays in this series, Sacks was gay, though he did not come out publicly until late in his life. Sacks's middle name was "Wolf," which is the last name of Quinto's character and which was the original working title for the show.

The protagonist is afflicted with prosopagnosia, more commonly referred to as "face blindness," a cognitive disorder of face perception, the ability to recognize familiar faces is compromised, including one's own face (self-recognition). Other aspects of visual processing and intellectual functioning are unaffected.

Oliver Sacks, upon whom this series was inspired, had face-blindness. Face-blindness ranges from difficulty recognizing rarely-seen people or people who've significantly modified their hairstyles, facial hair, and/or eyeglasses, to those who don't recognize themselves, family and/other frequently-seen people. Most people with the condition are able to recognize family, coworkers, & other frequently-seen people.

Originally titled Wolf, NBC changed the title to Brilliant Minds.

Zachary Quinto and Donna Murphy worked together in 1992 during a production of Oliver! In Pittsburgh before playing mother and son in this show.