Quantum Leap was one of the best sci-fi shows of the ‘90s, which actually had very little sci-fi in it. The premise: a man from the future Sam Becket (played by Scott Bakula) takes part in a time travel experiment that goes wrong and dooms him to a life of leaping into other people’s lives of the past.
This meant that every episode was different, with the constant being his faithful cigar-smoking hologram companion Al (played by the brilliant Dean Stockwell).
For those that grew up with it, it was a must watch and probably taught the watcher more about American history than their school.
It’s been revealed that a pilot is in the works (via THR) for a Quantum Leap reboot. The co-showrunners have been revealed and they are Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt. Lilien has written for a slew of event TV, including Gotham, Hawaii-50 and the ill-fated Alactraz. Wynbrandt also worked on Gotham and Alcatraz as a producer.
The good news is that the original creator of the show is also on board, Don Bellisario, as exec producer as is Deborah Pratt who was an exec producer and (most importantly) the calming voice of Ziggy, Al's communicator.
The cast right now is unknown but it would be great to see Scott Bakula play some part of the show. He’s already been ruled out to reprise his original role as Sam, but he would make an interesting Al (the role played by Stockwell who passed away in late 2021).
Leaping 30 years into the future
The show is set 30 years after the original series (which makes sense given the finale aired in 1993), with the synopsis as follows:
“It’s been 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. 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.”
It’s important to note that this is just a pilot but if it has anything like the success of the original show then NBC will be on to a winner. Oh, and they better make sure they keep the catchy theme tune!
- Here are some failed TV pilots - let's hope Quantum Leap doesn't leap on to the list.
