By Charles Webb
Scooter Braun is confident “Scorpion” can stand on its own. The producer for the CBS genius drama thinks the hour-long series will be able to survive without gimmicks like celebrity cameos… But in his other role as a music talent manager, he’s got some of his clients interested in making an appearance on the new series, which makes its debut tonight (September 22).
“The most important thing I want to do is let the show speak for itself,” Braun told MTV News on the red carpet for the show, at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles. “If you make a really good TV show, you don’t need any other gimmicks.”
The School Boy Records owner – home to acts like Justin Bieber, Airana Grande, and Carly Rae Jepsen – isn’t saying “no” to cameos to any of the acts he manages.
“There’s definitely been a lot of interest from our friends,” Braun said. “A lot of our acts and friends of mine are intrigued by the show and would love to be a part of it.”
Explaining how he was drawn to the series, Braun said that it was after meeting the inspiration for “Scorpion,” Walter O’Brien, that he was interested in tackling this series about a collection of brilliant minds trying to solve the world’s unsolvable problems. Elyes Gabel (“World War Z,” “Interstellar”) plays O’Brien in the series alongside Katherine McPhee (“Smash”), Eddie Kaye Thomas (“American Pie”), Robert Patrick (“Terminator 2″).
Tonight’s pilot, directed by “Fast and Furious” and “Better Luck Tomorrow” director Justin Li, sees O’Brien – the world’s fourth smartest man – helping an FBI agent stop an aerial catastrophe.
Saying he was “blown away” after seeing the pilot, Braun continued that he was drawn to the material because it was “smart” and “intelligent,” keeping pace with the geniuses of the series.
“When Justin and I were flying on a plane together and he showed me the pilot, I knew we had something really, really special,” Braun promised.
“Scorpion” premieres tonight (September 22) at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
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