Conversations
Season
1
Episode
69
|
Sep 23, 2025
Reimagining the Medical Drama with Michael Grassi and Daniela Lamas, MD
Michael Grassi, veteran TV writer, and Daniela Lamas, ICU physician and writer, join us to discuss Brilliant Minds, a medical drama inspired by the cases and philosophy of Oliver Sacks. Together, they reflect on what makes Brilliant Minds different from other medical dramas: a focus not on miracle cures or fast diagnoses, but on adaptation, empathy, and the human condition.
0:00/1:34
Conversations
Season
1
Episode
69
|
Sep 23, 2025
Reimagining the Medical Drama with Michael Grassi and Daniela Lamas, MD
Michael Grassi, veteran TV writer, and Daniela Lamas, ICU physician and writer, join us to discuss Brilliant Minds, a medical drama inspired by the cases and philosophy of Oliver Sacks. Together, they reflect on what makes Brilliant Minds different from other medical dramas: a focus not on miracle cures or fast diagnoses, but on adaptation, empathy, and the human condition.
0:00/1:34
Conversations
Season
1
Episode
69
|
9/23/25
Reimagining the Medical Drama with Michael Grassi and Daniela Lamas, MD
Michael Grassi, veteran TV writer, and Daniela Lamas, ICU physician and writer, join us to discuss Brilliant Minds, a medical drama inspired by the cases and philosophy of Oliver Sacks. Together, they reflect on what makes Brilliant Minds different from other medical dramas: a focus not on miracle cures or fast diagnoses, but on adaptation, empathy, and the human condition.
0:00/1:34
About Our Guest
Michael Grassi
Michael Grassi is a Peabody Award-winning writer and producer. He's currently executive producing and showrunning season two of the drama he created, "Brilliant Minds," based on the life and work of Dr. Oliver Sacks for Warner Brothers and NBC. Michael also served as an executive producer on Seasons 1 and 2 of "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin" and "Pretty Little Liars: Summer School" for HBO Max. Prior to that, he was an executive producer on "Riverdale", where he worked as a writer since season 1, and co-created and executive produced the critically acclaimed drama “Katy Keene,” a “Riverdale” spinoff based on characters from the Archie Comics universe. Grassi’s other credits include award-winning shows “Schitt’s Creek,” “Supergirl,” “Degrassi,” “Lost Girl,” and “Wynonna Earp.” In 2015, Grassi was nominated for the Writers Guild of Canada’s Best Drama Series award. His Peabody-winning episode of “Degrassi” introduced the first transgender teen character to appear as a series regular on scripted TV, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and GLAAD Media Award.
Daniela Lamas, MD
Daniela Lamas is a critical care doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a writer for the New York Times and the NBC medical drama, Brilliant Minds
About The Show
The Nocturnists is an award-winning medical storytelling podcast, hosted by physician Emily Silverman. We feature personal stories from frontline clinicians, conversations with healthcare-related authors, and art-makers. Our mission is to humanize healthcare and foster joy, wonder, and curiosity among clinicians and patients alike.
resources
Credits
About Our Guest
Michael Grassi
Michael Grassi is a Peabody Award-winning writer and producer. He's currently executive producing and showrunning season two of the drama he created, "Brilliant Minds," based on the life and work of Dr. Oliver Sacks for Warner Brothers and NBC. Michael also served as an executive producer on Seasons 1 and 2 of "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin" and "Pretty Little Liars: Summer School" for HBO Max. Prior to that, he was an executive producer on "Riverdale", where he worked as a writer since season 1, and co-created and executive produced the critically acclaimed drama “Katy Keene,” a “Riverdale” spinoff based on characters from the Archie Comics universe. Grassi’s other credits include award-winning shows “Schitt’s Creek,” “Supergirl,” “Degrassi,” “Lost Girl,” and “Wynonna Earp.” In 2015, Grassi was nominated for the Writers Guild of Canada’s Best Drama Series award. His Peabody-winning episode of “Degrassi” introduced the first transgender teen character to appear as a series regular on scripted TV, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and GLAAD Media Award.
Daniela Lamas, MD
Daniela Lamas is a critical care doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a writer for the New York Times and the NBC medical drama, Brilliant Minds
About The Show
The Nocturnists is an award-winning medical storytelling podcast, hosted by physician Emily Silverman. We feature personal stories from frontline clinicians, conversations with healthcare-related authors, and art-makers. Our mission is to humanize healthcare and foster joy, wonder, and curiosity among clinicians and patients alike.
resources
Credits
About Our Guest
Michael Grassi
Michael Grassi is a Peabody Award-winning writer and producer. He's currently executive producing and showrunning season two of the drama he created, "Brilliant Minds," based on the life and work of Dr. Oliver Sacks for Warner Brothers and NBC. Michael also served as an executive producer on Seasons 1 and 2 of "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin" and "Pretty Little Liars: Summer School" for HBO Max. Prior to that, he was an executive producer on "Riverdale", where he worked as a writer since season 1, and co-created and executive produced the critically acclaimed drama “Katy Keene,” a “Riverdale” spinoff based on characters from the Archie Comics universe. Grassi’s other credits include award-winning shows “Schitt’s Creek,” “Supergirl,” “Degrassi,” “Lost Girl,” and “Wynonna Earp.” In 2015, Grassi was nominated for the Writers Guild of Canada’s Best Drama Series award. His Peabody-winning episode of “Degrassi” introduced the first transgender teen character to appear as a series regular on scripted TV, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and GLAAD Media Award.
Daniela Lamas, MD
Daniela Lamas is a critical care doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a writer for the New York Times and the NBC medical drama, Brilliant Minds
About The Show
The Nocturnists is an award-winning medical storytelling podcast, hosted by physician Emily Silverman. We feature personal stories from frontline clinicians, conversations with healthcare-related authors, and art-makers. Our mission is to humanize healthcare and foster joy, wonder, and curiosity among clinicians and patients alike.
resources
Credits
The Nocturnists is made possible by the California Medical Association, and donations from people like you!
This episode is sponsored by The Physicians Foundation.
Transcript
Note: The Nocturnists is created primarily as a listening experience. The audio contains emotion, emphasis, and soundscapes that are not easily transcribed. Our transcripts are produced using both speech recognition software and human copy editors, and may not be 100% accurate. Thank you for consulting the audio before quoting in print.
Transcript coming soon!
Note: The Nocturnists is created primarily as a listening experience. The audio contains emotion, emphasis, and soundscapes that are not easily transcribed. Our transcripts are produced using both speech recognition software and human copy editors, and may not be 100% accurate. Thank you for consulting the audio before quoting in print.
Transcript coming soon!
Transcript
Note: The Nocturnists is created primarily as a listening experience. The audio contains emotion, emphasis, and soundscapes that are not easily transcribed. Our transcripts are produced using both speech recognition software and human copy editors, and may not be 100% accurate. Thank you for consulting the audio before quoting in print.
Transcript coming soon!
0:00/1:34
Humanizing healthcare through storytelling.
podcast
Humanizing healthcare through storytelling.
podcast