NBC’s Brilliant Minds has returned on Monday January 5, 2026 after its midseason finale on December 1, 2025. With its return comes two guest stars being Nava Mau (Rainbow Girls, You) and Malia Pyles (She’s the He, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin). According to Deadline, both actresses will star in the second season of the series where they will each play a character that might have an interaction with the main character, Dr. Oliver Wolf.

For those who don’t know, Brilliant Minds is a medical drama following the character Dr. Oliver Wolf, a revolutionary neurologist who treats unique brain disorders by exploring the human mind. The series is inspired by the real life neurologist, Oliver Sacks. According to Deadline, Mau will appear in episode 215 titled “The Missing Person” which is schedule to air on March 2, 2026, playing the role of Denise, who is found collapsed after a night at the club.

According to Deadline, for Pyles, she will appear in episode 213 titled “The Rabbit Hole” which is scheduled to air on January 26, 2026. She will be playing the role of Nora Sutton, a mechanical engineering student by day who hangs with her Theta Epsilon Phi sisters by night. Mau is an award winning filmmaker and actress from Mexico City and San Antonio, Texas who wrote, produced, directed, and starred in Walking Hour. Pyles is an American-Filipino actress who will star in the upcoming Apple TV series called Cape Fear. 

The cast consists of Zachary Quinto (Invincible, The Artist), Tamberla Perry (Death and Other Details), Ashleigh LaThrop (Nancy Drew, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One), Aury Krebs (You Mourn Weird, Way Down), Teddy Sears (The Night Agent, Justice League: Warworld), Alex MacNicoll (The Only Way Out is Through, Grand Gesture), Spence Moore II (Crutch, Going Places), Dorrett White (Astro and Azrael, Kofi), John Clarence Stewart (Remember, Mood Swings), Brian Altemus (Doctor Odyssey, Mean Girls), Mishel Prada (Stone Cold Fox, The Continental), Stacey Farber (Virgin River, Hanukkah on the Rocks), Jonathan Kim (Sheriff Country, The Mother and the Bear), Andi E McQueen (The Rebrand, Accused), Henry Falk (Brilliant Minds, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah), andAlex Mallari Jr. (Recipe for Romance, Hostile Takeover).

The series drops episodes every Monday at 10 p.m. on NBC. You can stream the first season of the series on Peacock if you need a refresher.