Zachary Quinto, known for his role as a superhuman serial killer in NBC’s “Heroes,” has now shifted gears to portray a neurologist in “Brilliant Minds.” He’s still drawn to the subject of brains, but this time it’s through a much healthier lens.

Quinto is back on network television with “Brilliant Minds” (NBC, Mondays at 10 EDT/PDT, ★½ out of four), a medical drama that only loosely draws inspiration from Dr. Oliver Sacks, a pioneering neurologist. In this dramatized version, Quinto plays an unconventional doctor known for producing astonishing outcomes for patients with rare conditions. While that may sound engaging, the execution feels sluggish and rather dull.

Dr. Oliver Wolf (Quinto) is portrayed as a nonconformist neurologist at a Bronx hospital, capable of bending rules, even taking a patient to a bar for a family reunion instead of the operating room. His disregard for protocols stems from his deep compassion for patients, treating them as whole individuals rather than just their medical issues.

This beleaguered hospital, where his mother (Donna Murphy) serves as the chief of medicine, allows him to pull together a team of four interns (Alex MacNicoll, Aury Krebs, Spence Moore II, Ashleigh LaThrop) and provides what appears to be abundant resources for diagnosing and treating unusual neurological disorders. Despite his prosopagnosia, or “face blindness,” which complicates his ability to recognize faces, his friends, including Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry), stand by him through his eccentricities.

“The emotional weightiness of “Minds” pulls viewers in; who wouldn’t want a doctor who shows such compassion as Quinto’s character? Yet, creator Michael Grassi, also linked to “Riverdale,” fills this drama with high-school melodrama, raising absurd questions about a famed neurologist chasing after teenagers or whisking dementia patients away to weddings. The narrative bears little resemblance to the real life of Sacks, presenting his story in an overly simplistic “patient-of-the-week” format.

While procedural shows often follow a formula, the best ones manage to keep each episode fresh and engaging. Unfortunately, by just the sixth episode, “Minds” has resorted to overly outlandish storylines, like “mass hysterical pregnancies in teenage girls.” One has to wonder how far the plotlines can stretch over a complete season and beyond without devolving into complete absurdity.

While Quinto has always captivated audiences, his portrayal of Oliver feels more frustrating than riveting. His tendency to view his social ineptitude as a quirky trait might just come off as irritating. The supporting cast—many with unique neurological conditions—holds more intrigue than Oliver himself, who comes across as stiff and unengaging despite attempts to flesh out his backstory through monotonous flashbacks.

For “Brilliant Minds” to stand out, it needed to transcend the half-baked blends of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Good Doctor,” and “House.” It should have aimed for genuine brilliance rather than merely claiming it.

You don’t need a medical degree to see that.