Classic Sci-Fi Series Set for Reboot at NBC With Original Star Potentially Involved

A Quantum Leap reboot is officially underway! NBC on Thursday announced that it has given a pilot order to a reboot of the beloved 1990s sci-fi series, which initially ran for five seasons. At this time, the show's original stars – Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, who passed away in November 2021 – are not attached to the project, though Deadline reported that Bakula "has had conversations about potentially getting involved."

Acting as a sequel to the original series, the NBC reboot will pick up 30 years after Bakula's Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished, according to the official logline. Now, "a new team has been assembled to restart the project in the hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it." Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt are writing the pilot and are also set to executive produce alongside original Quantum Leap creator Donald P. Bellisario. Deborah Pratt, who co-wrote, co-produced and narrated the introduction of the original Quantum Leap, and Martin Gero are also attached as executive producers. Further information about the upcoming reboot, including the cast, has not been released.

Quantum Leap originally aired on NBC for five seasons from 1989 through 1993. The series centered around Bakula's onscreen counterpart, Dr. Sam Beckett, a scientist who, following a government experiment into time travel, found himself trapped in the past. He "leapt" into the bodies of different people in each episode, often fixing historical "errors" as he attempted to find his way back to his own life and timeline. Stockwell, meanwhile, portrayed Admiral Al Calavicci, Beckkett's hologram companion throughout his travels.

In the decades since the show's controversial conclusion, there have been rumors of a reboot. In 2017, Bellisario revealed at L.A. Comic Con that he had written a script for a movie based on the show. Then in September 2021, Bakula told the late Bob Saget that "very significant conversations" about a reboot were happening. Bakula, however, said he wasn't "what it would be. I don't know who would have it."

The Quantum Leap reboot was one of two drama pilot orders the network announced Thursday. The second series, Found, comes from writer and executive producer Nkechi Okoro Carroll, reported Variety. That series is set to follow a public relations specialist and her crisis management team as they "make sure there is always someone looking out for the forgotten missing people. But unbeknownst to anyone, this everyday hero is hiding a chilling secret of her own."

0comments