‘Quantum Leap’ Reboot in the Works, Scott Bakula Says

Now that Scott Bakula has some extra time on his hands since NCIS: New Orleans ended, the actor is turning his attention to reviving the iconic science fiction series that made him a star. During a stop on Bob Saget’s podcast, the Enterprise actor said there have been “significant” conversations about reviving Quantum Leap. The original series aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993 and starred Bakula as the time-traveling Dr. Sam Beckett and Dean Stockwell as his best friend, Admiral Al Calavicci.

“There’s very significant conversations about it right now going on,” Bakula told Saget, via The Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t know what it would be. I don’t know who would have it. The rights were a mess for years. I don’t know if they’re even sorted out now. That’s always been the biggest complication.” The series was produced by Universal Television and is still distributed by NBCUniversal. It is available to stream on NBC.com.

Bakula said he often talks with series creator Donald P. Bellisario about bringing Quantum Leap back. Bellisario would always tell Bakula that it would be impossible to bring the show back without Bakula and Stockwell. “I said, ‘Just think about me and Dean and write your show. Get it out there. If you have an idea, just write it. I am sure it will be great,’” Bakula told Saget. “I don’t know what that idea would be if we did.” Bakula joked that Stockwell might be too expensive to bring back, but the Hollywood legend retired from acting after suffering a stroke in 2015.

Bakula has talked about reviving Quantum Leap several times in the past. After NCIS: New Orleans was canceled earlier this year, he told TVLine that a revival or reboot of Quantum Leap would be a “good idea.” He even suggested that a new series could focus on a child of Sam’s. “That’s one of the ideas, and it seems like a good idea,” Bakula said in February. “We all know that Sam’s still out there, and I always tell people that should be comforting – that he’s still out there fixing things that once went wrong.”

Bakula won a Golden Globe for Quantum Leap in 1992 and earned four Emmy nominations. He most recently starred as Dwayne Pride on NCIS: New Orleans, which ended in May after seven seasons. It was the first NCIS show to end, and CBS’ decision to end the show came as a surprise to Bakula, he told TVInsider. He also thanked fans for sticking with the show for so long. “They seem to have liked the show, they like the stories we told, the characters on the show, and that’s why we do it,” Bakula said in May. “We do it because we want people to grow a relationship and attach and invite us into their homes and we don’t take that lightly. I never have.”