There are many reasons why I look forward to fall every year, and fall TV is definitely one of them. I always make little mental bookmarks for new shows I want to watch, and this year I added a tag for new NBC shows in advance smart mind. It checked a lot of “interest” boxes for me: it’s a medical drama (I probably have an honorary degree now), it’s based on real-life doctors, and it stars Zachary Quinto and Tambella Perry.
If you’re like me, you’ve been in love with Quinto ever since you saw him in the 2006 episode hero. But you might also enjoy seeing and supporting other moms, Perry, of two little girls, who get to watch their children go out into the world and carve out spaces for women on screen.
I loved everything we learned about Perry before we were first introduced to him. She has a background in sketch comedy, including a YouTube series with husband Kevin Douglas Tan and Kevin Show. Her career spanned film and stage, and she pursued it with dogged conviction—she and Kevin moved to Los Angeles when she was four months pregnant, with no job prospects but determined to truly make it in show business.
At one point, she did plan to go to medical school, so you might say her journey came full circle. We caught up with her via Zoom to talk about her “fierce” personality, the importance of mental health in the family, and the medical scare she’s grateful for smart mind Even.
Scary Mom: Congrats on the show! It made me cry in the first five minutes – in a good way. What really drew you to the script?
Tamberla Perry: That’s a great question because this show is different. [It’s] Inspired by the life and work of renowned neuroscientist Oliver Sachs. In our show, we follow Dr. Oliver Wolfe, his team of interns, and myself, the Director of Psychiatry, as they explore the mind—the last great frontier—while working with our patients, and also dealing with or Ignoring our own problems.
I think that’s the thing that really stood out to me: This is a show about mental health. In this show, people don’t go into the hospital and be cured by the end of the episode. We’re going to see these characters in many of the episodes to come, and just like you wouldn’t go into a therapy session with your counselor and expect it to be resolved in an hour, that’s not what we expect either. That’s not the deliverable of this show. We give you the tools to adapt to real life.
Therefore, what stands out is that mental health is important and should be respected.
SM: What excites your character, Dr. Carol Pierce—or as you call her, Dr. Carol Fells?
TP: Carroll Pierce seems to everyone to be a unified player…but as the season goes on, we’re going to see some little cracks develop in Carroll. But she’s already together. She recruited Wolfe to the hospital so they could form this neuropsychology dream team. She was one of the most popular psychiatrists in New York City, but chose to stay in the community and help the people of the Bronx. She could go anywhere, but she knew there was work to be done where she came from.
SM: Fans may not realize that she’s also based on a real person, right?
TP: She is based on a real-life doctor, the late Dr. Carol E. Burnett. Not to be confused with the great comedian Carol Burnett! Carol E. Burnett was a lifelong friend and colleague of Oliver Sachs. So to be able to carry on the legacy of someone – there is not much information about her, she is mentioned many times in articles and literature by Oliver Sachs – she was a pioneer, an activist, a trailblazer in this field. The right to do that is a huge honor for me.
SM: Very cool. Speaking of comedian Carol Burnett, you come from a comedy background, and while this show has a sense of humor, it’s not that forward-thinking. How does it feel for you to get into this head space?
TP: In a recent interview, [I said] Carol brings a bit of levity to the show that I think the writers may not have originally intended. When I first said this, I thought, Oh man, did she bring joy to the show. Or do I think I’m being interesting here, but I’m not? Because it’s not facing forward at all. It’s that weird technical part of comedy where you can’t try to be funny. I feel like any ease I’ve been able to bring to this role is because we have such a collaborative team. Michael Rossi is our amazing producer who has created a collaborative community.
SM: You’ve said before that the series centers on doctors who put themselves in their patients’ shoes in a way that isn’t always reflected in the real world. Can you expand it?
TP: This is one of the pioneers, Carol E. Burnett. She is a trailblazer in diversity and medical education and a leader in eliminating health disparities. Her mission is to change the face of medicine by teaching students the art of being culturally sensitive to medicine.
I remember when I had my second baby, I slept really, really bad. My legs look just like my thighs – except they’re my ankles and feet. I also slept well after I had my first child, but this time, Oh something went wrong. I kept calling my doctor; I sent pictures. I kept saying, ‘I know we’re going to swell, but this is crazy. I meet people all the time who are like, ‘Drink some water and keep walking. You just have to keep going and it will go down.
So, 10 days after my second child was born, I randomly checked my blood pressure… and it was over 200 over 199. I don’t find it strange at all. The only problem is that my feet are swollen. That night I was admitted to hospital with postpartum preeclampsia, and it was because someone didn’t hear me.
SM: Wow. Well, as you mentioned, mental health is a big topic smart mind. As a mother of two daughters, how do you make mental health a priority for your family?
TP: Oh, that’s a good thing. As far as all the transparency goes, I could do better in this area. Now, my oldest daughter – she’s 8 – has some challenges because my job requires me to travel a lot and I’m in Canada. So, thank you for bringing this to my attention. This is something I need to really focus on in my own home.
catch perry smart mind Starting at 10:09 on September 23rd.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
