BrainDead

<i>BrainDead</i>

BrainDead

American political satire television series


BrainDead is an American political satire science fiction[1][2][3] comedy-drama television series created by Robert and Michelle King.[4] The series stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Laurel Healy, a documentary film-maker who takes a job working for her brother Luke (Danny Pino), a U.S. Senator, when the funding for her latest film falls through. Assigned as his new constituency caseworker, she discovers that Washington, D.C. has been invaded by extraterrestrial insects which are eating the brains and taking control of people, including members of Congress and their staffers. Much of the internal comedy of the series was that, in the altered reality of Washington, D.C. politics, only a few people noticed.

Quick Facts BrainDead, Genre ...

CBS announced a 13-episode straight-to-series order on July 22, 2015. The show premiered on June 13, 2016. After four episodes, the show moved from its Monday timeslot to Sundays to make room for the network's coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.[5] The show had a planned four-season arc, which would have seen the bugs then invade Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood,[6] but on October 17, 2016, CBS canceled the series after one season.[7]

Premise

The series centers on the Capitol in Washington, D.C., where alien bugs infect members of Congress.[8][9][10]

Documentary filmmaker Laurel Healy agrees to take a job working for her brother, Democratic Senator Luke Healy, in order to secure funding for her next film. However, she comes across a conspiracy in which alien bugs have partially replaced the brains of several people, including members of Congress. Sometimes, the bugs cause their victims' heads to explode. The song "You Might Think" by The Cars is used frequently in the series as a leitmotif for characters who are infected by the aliens.

Cast

Main

  • Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Laurel Healy, a documentary filmmaker who takes a job as a constituency caseworker working for her brother, Senator Luke Healy, and stumbles across the bug conspiracy[11]
  • Danny Pino as U.S. Senator Luke Healy (D-Md.), Laurel's brother, who is the Senate Majority Whip[12]
  • Tony Shalhoub as U.S. Senator Raymond "Red" Wheatus (R-Md.), a Republican Senator who is one of the first people to have their brains eaten and replaced by the aliens[13]
  • Aaron Tveit as Gareth Ritter, a staffer for Senator Wheatus who befriends Laurel, despite their extremely different political beliefs[14]
  • Nikki M. James as Dr. Rochelle Daudier, a medical doctor who befriends Laurel and Gustav and helps them uncover the bug conspiracy
  • Jan Maxwell as U.S. Senator Ella Pollack (D-Ca)
  • Johnny Ray Gill as Gustav Triplett a.k.a. Dr. Bob, a pseudo-scientist and conspiracist who has discovered the existence of the aliens and how they communicate[15]
  • Charlie Semine as FBI agent Anthony Onofrio[16]

Recurring

  • Paige Patterson as Scarlett Pierce, Senator Healy's Chief of Staff and one of his mistresses [17]
  • Megan Hilty as Misty Alise, a conservative political television commentator [18]
  • Beth Malone as Claudia Monarch, a liberal political television commentator[19]
  • Zach Grenier as Dean Healy, former U.S. Senator and father of Laurel and Luke[20]
  • Brooke Adams as U.S. Senator Diane Vaynerchuk[21]
  • Wayne Duvall as U.S. Senator Andre Amarant, Republican Leader in the Senate[22]
  • Glenn Fleshler as FBI Agent Aaron Blades, Onofrio's partner
  • Patrick Breen as Cole Stockwell, a budget analyst hired by Luke
  • Lily Cowles as Germaine Healy, Senator Luke Healy's pregnant wife

Guest

Production

Singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton wrote and performed musical recap segments of previous episodes, shown during the cold opening of each episode. There were exceptions to this, however: one episode instead opened with a parody commercial for "Space Bugs" in the style of prescription drug commercials in the musical style of the other recaps, while in another recap the singer, after admitting that the previous episode was too overwhelming to recap, recapped an episode of the western Gunsmoke instead.[27][28][29][30]

Episodes

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Broadcast

The series premiered in Australia on Monday June 20, 2016,[43] on Eleven,[44] part of the Ten network.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 65% approval rating based on 49 critics. The site's critical consensus reads: "While admittedly uneven, BrainDead remains a charmingly idealistic sign of the political times".[45] On Metacritic, the show holds a 61 out of 100 score based on 37 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[46]

On its cancellation, Robert King, the show's creator said, "It was a show that was trying to be as weird and anti-network as could be, and it was probably a mistake to do that on a network. But I loved that show."[47]


References

  1. Perkins, Dennis (June 14, 2016). "Promising sci-fi satire BrainDead suggests there are worse things than gridlock". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  2. Heritage, Stuart (August 26, 2016). "BrainDead: the absurd new thriller that will make your head explode". The Guardian. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  3. Freeman, Molly (June 14, 2016). "BrainDead Series Premiere Review: Sci-Fi Thriller Meets Political Satire". Screen Rant. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  4. Prudom, Laura (July 16, 2016). "CBS Shifts 'BrainDead' to Sundays to Make Room for Political Conventions". Variety. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  5. Michael Ausiello (October 17, 2016). "BrainDead, American Gothic Not Returning for Season 2". TVLine. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  6. Birnbaum, Debra (July 22, 2015). "CBS Orders Comic Thriller from Good Wife Producers". Variety. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  7. Hibberd, James (July 22, 2015). "Congress Is BrainDead in New CBS Dramedy Mocking Capitol Hill". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  8. Andreeva, Nellie (September 10, 2015). "Lauren Cohan to Topline CBS' Comic-Thriller Series 'BrainDead'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  9. Andreeva, Nellie (November 30, 2015). "Danny Pino to Star in CBS Summer Series 'BrainDead' from 'Good Wife' Creators". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  10. CBS (February 4, 2016). "Tony Shalhoub Joins the Cast of 'BrainDead'" (Press release). The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  11. Stanhope, Kate (October 15, 2015). "Aaron Tveit to Star in CBS Sci-Fi Drama 'BrainDead'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  12. Obenson, Tambay A. (October 26, 2015). "Johnny Ray Gill Joins Nikki M. James in New CBS Comic-Thriller, 'BrainDead'". Indiewire. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  13. "Biography Charlie Semine". CBS. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  14. Lloyd Webber, Imogen (May 9, 2016). "Odds & Ends: Megan Hilty Tapped for BrainDead Opposite Aaron Tveit, Groundhog Day Cast Set & More". Broadway.com. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  15. Petski, Denise (March 21, 2016). "Beth Malone Joins 'BrainDead' On CBS". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  16. David Wiegand, "‘Good Wife’ creators’ follow-up is ‘BrainDead’ on arrival", San Francisco Chronicle, Retrieved September 5, 2016
  17. IVYV, "BrainDead Season 2 Hangs In The Balance; Episode 8 Introduces Senator Diane Vaynerchuk" Archived September 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, movienewsguide.com, Retrieved September 5, 2016
  18. "BRAINDEAD CAST", tv.com, Retrieved September 5, 2016
  19. Chris. E. Hayner, "3 reasons you need to watch ‘BrainDead,’ including a Michael Moore sex scene" Archived September 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, zap2it, Retrieved September 3, 2016
  20. Colin Mcguire, "Season 1, Episode 7 - "The Power of Euphemism ..."", popmatters.com, Retrieved September 8, 2016
  21. Michael Knox-Smith, "BrainDead: Season One, Ep 9 – Murder Times Two (Recap and Review)", Archived July 27, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 16, 2016
  22. "BrainDead Recap: Our Bugs, Ourselves". Vulture. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  23. "How The Good Fight Makes Its Catchy, Bizarre Animated Shorts". Vulture. April 11, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  24. Gartenberg, Chaim (September 6, 2016). "I'm obsessed with the musical recaps of a TV show I've never watched". The Verge. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  25. Porter, Rick (June 21, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'Bachelorette' adjusts up, 'Spartan' and 'Mistresses' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  26. Porter, Rick (June 28, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'Bachelorette' adjusts up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  27. Porter, Rick (July 12, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'American Ninja Warrior' adjusts up, 'Mistresses' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  28. Porter, Rick (July 26, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Big Brother,' 'Celebrity Family Feud' and 'Match Game' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  29. Porter, Rick (August 2, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Big Brother' and 'Celebrity Family Feud' adjust up, Teen Choice adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  30. Porter, Rick (August 9, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: Olympics and 'Big Brother' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  31. Porter, Rick (August 16, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: Olympics adjust up, ABC game shows adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  32. Porter, Rick (August 23, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: Olympics, 'Big Brother,' 'Celebrity Family Feud' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  33. Porter, Rick (August 30, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Big Brother' adjusts up, plus final NFL numbers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  34. Porter, Rick (September 7, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: College football, 'Big Brother' and NASCAR adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  35. Porter, Rick (September 13, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Son of Zorn' holds, 'BrainDead' adjusts down, final NFL numbers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  36. "BrainDead comes to Eleven". Ryno's TV. June 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  37. "BrainDead". TENplay. Network Ten. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  38. Ausiello, Michael (January 9, 2017). "BrainDead Was 'Probably a Mistake to Do' on a Broadcast Network, Says EP". TVLine. Retrieved March 16, 2017.

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