Once again, a brave scientist is stuck in the past, confronted by mirror images that don’t belong to him, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better when the Quantum Leap revival begins on NBC. This time, the scientist is played by Raymond Lee, and the actor explains that Screenrant how the new Quantum Leap series will pay tribute to the beloved original.
“Our showrunners and creators were huge fans of the original, so it was up to them to make sure they do the original show justice. But they also keep in mind that it’s 2022 and a lot has changed in thirty years, so it’s important for us to put on a brand new show.”
Picking up three decades after Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) for the first time in the… Quantum Leap accelerator and gone, a new team, led by physicist Ben Song (Raymond Lee), has assembled to restart the project in hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it. However, everything changes when Ben makes an unauthorized jump into the past, leaving the team behind to solve the mystery of why he did it.
Although original star Scott Bakula will not appear in the new Quantum Leap, Lee has revealed that the series is full of tie-ins and Easter eggs. All this while making some changes and expanding the world first explored in the 80s and early 90s.
“We’re going to find every possible way to have character bonds and Easter eggs and lots of juicy stuff for all the original fans. But we’re also going to dive deep into some of the mythology later in the season. The algorithms have come a long way; long enough that [my character] dr. Ben Song was able to go beyond what Dr. Sam Beckett could do. He can go beyond their own lives, and that’s a really nice thing to deal with.”
Sadly Scott Bakula isn’t coming back for the new one Quantum Leap
While there has been much speculation as to whether original Quantum Leap star and beloved actor Scott Bakula was set to return for the reboot slash-sequel series, Bakula herself has now revealed that there will be no appearances from Dr. Samuel Beckett.
“In January the pilot was sold and I got a script because Sam Beckett’s character was in it, which makes sense, right?” Bakula revealed last week. “As so many of you have been asking me over the past few months, ‘How could you do QL without Sam?’ (or Al, for that matter) Well, I think we’re about to find out. That’s the story. Because the show has always been close to my heart, it was a very difficult decision to pass on the project, a decision that has upset and confused so many fans of the original series.”
So, while Beckett was initially part of the plan, Bakula eventually decided not to reprise the role for Quantum Leap. A decision that, as he admits, will have left many fans “upset” and “confused”.
Bakula wished the new series all the best, saying: “I cross my fingers that this new cast and crew are lucky enough to tap into the magic that propelled the original Quantum Leap into the hearts and minds of generations past and present. I wish good luck to them and lots of jumping fun!”
The Quantum Leap revival premiered on NBC on September 19, 2022.