''Pure Genius'' (originally titled ''Bunker Hill'') is an American

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

created by Jason Katims that aired on CBS from October 27, 2016 to January 26, 2017. The series stars Augustus Prew as James Bell who is a Silicon Valley tech billionaire and

Dermot Mulroney Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...

as Dr. Walter Wallace. It was produced by True Jack Production,

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

and

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predec ...

. In May 2017, CBS cancelled the series after one season.

Premise

James Bell is a

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Count ...

billionaire who dreams of building a hospital with ultimate cutting-edge technology to treat rare and incurable diseases. He partners with a maverick surgeon, Dr. Walter Wallace, who leads the effort in clearing out the bureaucracy of medicine, and focus on forward thinking, advancing technology, and saving lives—at no cost to the patient.

Cast and characters

* Augustus Prew as James Bell, a Silicon Valley tech billionaire who opens Bunker Hill *

as Dr. Walter Wallace *

Odette Annable Odette Juliette Annable (; born May 10, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for various roles in film and television, including as Dr. Jessica Adams in the Fox medical drama series ''House'', Beth McIntyre in the monster film ''Cloverfie ...

as Dr. Zoe Brockett, double board-certified doctor of pediatrics and critical care *

Reshma Shetty Reshma Shetty (born 2 November 1977) is a British actress, best known for her role as Divya Katdare on the USA Network TV series ''Royal Pains''. Early life Shetty was born on November 2, 1977 to Hindu Indian parents in Manchester, England and wa ...

as Dr. Talaikha Channarayapatra, neurosurgeon *

Brenda Song Brenda Song (born March 27, 1988) is an American actress. Born in California, Song began her career at the age of six, working as a child model. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the sitcom ''Thunder Alley'' (1995), and ...

as Angie Cheng, Bunker Hill's Chief Biomedical Engineer * Aaron Jennings as Dr. Malik Verlaine, head of the Ehub which performs remote monitoring of patients *

Ward Horton Ward Kirby Horton (born January 14, 1976) is an American actor and stunt person. He is known for playing John Form in ''Annabelle (film), Annabelle''. In the fall of 2018, he played Ed in a Broadway revival of ''Torch Song Trilogy''. Ward Horton ...

as Dr. Scott Strauss, an Ivy League–educated neurologist and Catholic priest

Episodes

Production

Development

On January 22, 2016, it was announced that CBS had given the pilot order known as ''Bunker Hill''. The episode was written and authored by Jason Katims who was expected to be an executive producer, alongside

Sarah Watson Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pi ...

, David Semel and Michelle Lee. Production companies involved with the pilot include True Jack Productions,

and

. The show was ordered at the CBS

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2016 to air in the network's 2016–17 TV schedule and was officially picked up on May 13, 2016. A few days later, it was announced that it would premiere by October 27, 2016 and air on Thursdays at 10:00 P.M. On August 10, 2016, it was announced that the series name was changed from ''Bunker Hill'' to ''Pure Genius''. On November 21, 2016, CBS announced that it would not order more episodes than the 13 episodes commissioned. The production for the first season wrapped on December 15, 2016, and the remaining commissioned episodes were broadcast for the remainder of its run. On May 17, 2017, ''Pure Genius'' was cancelled after one season by CBS.

Casting

In February 2016, it was announced that

and

had been cast in the pilot's leading roles. Although the pilot was ordered, in March 2016 it was reported that Aaron Jennings and

had joined the cast.

Reception

Critical reception

''Pure Genius'' has received generally negative reviews from television critics.

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website

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reported a 26% rating based on reviews from 23 critics. The website's consensus reads, "''Pure Genius'' is weighed down by stereotypical doctor drama trappings, suffocating its chances of bringing anything compelling and entertaining to the genre."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

reported a score of 43 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Willa Paskin of ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'' described the show as "idiotic tech propaganda that’s about one-tenth as curious about the issues it raises as it should be." They characterized the show as featuring implausible science and technologies where workers have no regard for patient privacy, and James as a contemptuous CEO-type character who is consistently more confident than Bunker Hill's medical professionals.

Ratings

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 5500906, Pure Genius 2016 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings 2010s American drama television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2010s American medical television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Universal Television