# BrainDead (By the producers of The Good Wife) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394 "2016-06-15T03:05:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/1 "2016-06-15T03:05:48Z")
Anyone watching this? It apparently started last night and I just saw it on On Demand. I expected a political thriller similar to _The Good Wife_. It is not what I expected. Well, it is and it isn’t. _The Good Wife_ bordered on Sci Fi once or twice. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/2 "2016-06-15T03:28:56Z")
What little info I could find about the show makes it sound worst than stupid. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/3 "2016-06-15T03:43:44Z")
It’s certainly different. I’m going to give it a chance and see where they go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/4 "2016-06-15T03:43:57Z")
This seems fun. I like watching the ants. If we’re lucky they will take it to weirdville. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/5 "2016-06-15T03:59:34Z")
I think it’s going to be political satire with the whole alien possession thing being the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/6 "2016-06-15T04:03:54Z")
House of Cards meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/7 "2016-06-15T04:15:54Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > House of Cards meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Exactly. Good description. I do have to wonder how long they can keep it up. It seems like something that could work as a movie, but as a weekly series could lose steam quickly. It’ll take good writers to keep it going. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/8 "2016-06-15T04:18:14Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > What little info I could find about the show makes it sound worst than stupid. I’m curious what you read about it that led you to this conclusion. I’m not saying you’re wrong, we all have opinions, I’m just curious what you’ve read. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/9 "2016-06-15T11:49:14Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Anyone watching this? It apparently started last night and I just saw it on On Demand. I expected a political thriller similar to _The Good Wife_. It is not what I expected. Well, it is and it isn’t. _The Good Wife_ bordered on Sci Fi once or twice. Borders? There’s a meteor releasing mind-controlling alien bugs. That borders on sci-fi the way Harlem borders on New York City. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/10 "2016-06-15T11:51:50Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > What little info I could find about the show makes it sound worst than stupid. Or you could actually watch it. I found it quite enjoyable. Maryl Elizabeth Winstead was both fetching and funny, and Danny Pino releasing his inner creep was funny. Tlny Shalhoub was good as always. What Brain Dead is is hard to genre-mixing. It’s a comic sci-fi political soap-opera satire. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/11 "2016-06-15T11:55:20Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Borders? There’s a meteor releasing mind-controlling alien bugs. That borders on sci-fi the way Harlem borders on New York City. I said that _The Good Wife_ occasionally bordered on Sci Fi. _Brain Dead_ obviously does not simply border on it, and I never intended to say that. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/12 "2016-06-15T13:03:26Z")
Tony Shaloub is in it? Then I’ll definitely give it a look. I loved him in \*Monk \*until near the end the writers turned his character into a caricature of himself. Also loved him on _Wings_–he was far sexier than either Brian or Joe. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/13 "2016-06-15T13:13:52Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I said that _The Good Wife_ occasionally bordered on Sci Fi. _Brain Dead_ obviously does not simply border on it, and I never intended to say that. I didn’t read carefully,sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/14 "2016-06-15T13:16:42Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > There’s a meteor releasing mind-controlling alien bugs. Then I probably won’t watch it. I am sick of the election coverage already. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/15 "2016-06-15T13:28:11Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I didn’t read carefully,sorry. No problem. I probably wasn’t clear enough. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/16 "2016-06-15T13:34:48Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Then I probably won’t watch it. I am sick of the election coverage already. > > Regards, > Shodan It actually starts out as reality. There are TVs showing clips of Clinton, Trump, and Sanders speaking and reporters reporting on them. For the meteor they show some of the many Youtube clips of that big meteor that exploded over Russia a few years ago. A joint US / Russian team retrieve it and it’s transported to the Smithsonian for study, which is how it ends up infecting DC. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/17 "2016-06-15T14:04:30Z")
Watched the premiere - doubt I’ll watch more. Maybe I’ll give it one more try, but they really didn’t hook me. The female lead was very good. Her brother was appealing in some respects, but impressed me as WAY too young for a senator. The interweaving of real political events was interesting. And loved that political in-fighting and the gov’t shutdown was - in large part - responsible. Not sure how they’ll be able to keep it up, even for one season. Is this just a 13-ep one-off? OR expected to be an ongoing series? Seems like an awful lot of folk are already infected. Not sure how any of the uninfected will be able to remain so unless they stay awake and in hermetically sealed rooms. Or will earplugs be sufficient? Personally woulda preferred not to see the brain drip out of Shaloub’s ear and then explode, or the splatter gore when the professor’s head apparently exploded. (Why? Because he was fighting it?) Wife wasn’t engaged, so I doubt I’ll record it to watch myself. Maybe will catch on-demand if bored some night when I’m alone, but the inability to FF thru ads would likely be enough of a barrier. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/18 "2016-06-15T17:52:47Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Not sure how they’ll be able to keep it up, even for one season. Is this just a 13-ep one-off? OR expected to be an ongoing series? Seems like an awful lot of folk are already infected. Not sure how any of the uninfected will be able to remain so unless they stay awake and in hermetically sealed rooms. Or will earplugs be sufficient? > > Personally woulda preferred not to see the brain drip out of Shaloub’s ear and then explode, or the splatter gore when the professor’s head apparently exploded. (Why? Because he was fighting it?) The show creators are hoping for four seasons. > [@](#): > > "We’re designing it that the 13 [episodes] do stand alone, but we’ve thought out four seasons down the road, should there be such luck,” Michelle says. > **[‘BrainDead’ Team Previews “Absurd” New Comic-Thriller and Talks Four-Season Plan](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/cbs-braindead-preview-901223/)** > > Creators Michelle and Robert King and castmembers Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Tveit, Danny Pino and Tony Shalhoub preview the new CBS political satire series. I thought there would have been some sort of quarantine or something if you were covered in blood from someone who’s head exploded for apparently no reason. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/19 "2016-06-15T18:09:16Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > The show creators are hoping for four seasons. > > [CBS BrainDead Preview](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cbs-braindead-preview-901223) > > I thought there would have been some sort of quarantine or something if you were covered in blood from someone who’s head exploded for apparently no reason. Maybe the people who would make such a decision have been infected. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394/20 "2016-06-15T18:22:02Z")
I like how people who are infected take a sudden liking to The Cars “You Might Think”. Obviously it's a dramatic device to indicate that someone has been infected, but it's amusing. What was the obviously rehearsed line that everyone said to explain the behavior of the merchant marine? It was something about how a sea voyage changes people. Everyone used the same exact line, word for word. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braindead-by-the-producers-of-the-good-wife/757394.md?page=2)