Brenda Song Dishes On New Show 'Pure Genius' Ahead of Premiere

Brenda Song Dishes On New Show 'Pure Genius' Ahead of Premiere

Brenda Song‘s brand new show Pure Genius makes its’ debut tonight on CBS.

In the series, the Disney alum stars as Angie, one of the many tech and medical professionals who help to run Bunker Hill, a state-of-the-art facility which treats rare medical conditions.

JJJ spoke to Brenda ahead of the premiere and got to learn all about the show, her character and more. Check it:

JJJ: What makes this series different from the other medical dramas?
Brenda Song
: Well, it’s created by Jason Katims. He created shows like Friday Night Lights, Parenthood and About a Boy. Jason is known for creating such strong well rounded characters. He builds his stories around the characters and does so with such grace and precision. It’s more than just a medical show — it’s a show about people…who happen to practice medicine.

JJJ: Tell us about Angie Cheng. What does she bring to the table that the others don’t? What are some personal things that you have brought to the character?
BS
: Angie is the tech aspect of Bunker Hill. [It's] Her job to find, use or even create new technologies to help the doctors aide in the care of the patients. Angie and James [Bell, played by Augustus Pew] represent the digital age that is upon us (laughs). I think that with every character that you play, you always bring a little of yourself. With Angie I think there’s a bit of Brenda’s dry sarcastic sense of humor for sure.

Click inside for more of our interview with Brenda Song…
JJJ: You obviously get along insanely well with your cast mates. What’s been some of the best moments so far?
BS
: I love this cast so much!!! Um, I think one of my favorite moments so far is when Dermot and his wife took us out for karaoke. We had soooo much fun! We got to really let loose and be silly. FYI, I’m terrible at karaoke!

JJJ: How much studying and research did you do for Angie and the show?
BS
: Not crazy amounts, actually. [Mostly] Lots of reading and googling. Also, the entire cast went to a medical lecture about digital heath by Dr. Brennan Spiegel at Cedar Sinai. He also gave us an incredible tour of Cedars. He has a research group there called C.O.R.E and we got to see the inspiration for our “incubator”, as well as see OR rooms etc. It was so informative. We have two doctor/writers on our writing staff. We also have medical consultants on set every day. It’s been an incredible process.

JJJ: How much tech is too much tech? Do you ever feel to just leave technology behind, or do you like how it’s shaped the world? What are your thoughts?
BS
: Fortunately and unfortunately, technology isn’t going anywhere. At times, I do think it’s a bit much because everyone is always on their phones (myself included) and you do lose a bit of that human interaction. I’m pretty bad at technology social media and all that, but I am very grateful for the convenience it brings. I also think that because I didn’t grow up with all this crazy tech, it’s not my nature to automatically Snapchat or tweet something. I didn’t have a cell phone until I was 16!

JJJ: What piece of technology, that we don’t have right now, do you wish we had in everyday life?
BS
: I wish we had a teleporter!! That’s the LA driver (who is stuck in traffic most of the day) talking.

JJJ: What are you personally learning from the show? Are there any things that you see and just want to know more about?
BS
: I feel like I learn so much from just reading the scripts every week. Being on this show has definitely made me much more curious about the human body and how it functions. Also, it’s made me very curious about all these crazy technologies out there. What a lot of people don’t know is that all the tech you see on Pure Genius is actually real tech. Whether it’s just in its’ research phase or actually currently being used. It’s not science fiction!

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Tune in TONIGHT, Thursday, October 27th @ 10PM ET/PT on CBS to watch Brenda in Pure Genius.

For more of Brenda‘s interview, head to JustJared.com.

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Photos: CBS, Rowan Daly
Posted to: Brenda Song, Exclusive, Interview, Television