# New(ish) TV show like "The Fugitive" or "Quantum Leap"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 1, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019 "2020-08-01T20:55:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 17\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/21 "2020-08-02T16:04:06Z")

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If you’ve got Disney+, the Mandalorian has exactly that structure.

I think that High Maintenance might (I’m too cheap for HBO - but the very few episodes I’ve seen look like that)

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/22 "2020-08-02T16:07:54Z")

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Highway to Heaven was kind of like this, but of course that was last century. But God Friended Me was sort of similar, with the main character traveling all over New York City to help people.

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**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/23 "2020-08-02T17:24:58Z")

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Watched all of Librarians and Warehouse 13, both really fun. Doctor who is very hit-or-miss for me.

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**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/24 "2020-08-02T17:25:53Z")

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I watched the first season of Travellers, but never got back to it.

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**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/25 "2020-08-02T17:27:27Z")

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Mandalorian, great show! And of course…

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/048rdO4STjQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Baby Yoda Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=048rdO4STjQ)

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**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/26 "2020-08-02T17:28:01Z")

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Always meant to get to God Friended Me…

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**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/27 "2020-08-02T18:03:01Z")

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“Life on Mars” sort of fits this description. Man apparently travels back in time to the 70s, into the body of a detective. He solves day-to-day crimes while trying to get back home. Lasted just a season, but they wrapped it up mostly neatly.

And don’t look up more beyond that, for fear of spoilers. The first episode or so should give you all you need to know if you’re going to like it.

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**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/28 "2020-08-03T16:57:14Z")

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There was a British version of “Life on Mars” too. John Simm is the cop in that one. 2 seasons.

Then there was a sequel series, “Ashes to Ashes”, that had a female cop show up in 1981.

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**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/29 "2020-08-03T18:23:46Z")

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I watched both the Brit and US versions of Life On Mars, and the UK sequel series Ashes To Ashes. Good stuff.

Thanks to everyone! Some great suggestions here. Apparently I have A LOT of TV to watch.

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**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/30 "2020-08-03T20:30:20Z")

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The Listener. Made 2009-12 in Canada.

Main character had a traumatic childhood. He can sense what other people are thinking. The character feels overwhelmed and tries ignoring it. He reluctantly intervenes and helps people when he discovers something bad is about to happen.

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**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/31 "2020-08-03T21:11:09Z")

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The Listener Wikia

There are spoilers in the Character descriptions. That’s common in Wika fan pages. They give a synopsis of the character and how it develops throughout the shows episodes.

> **[The Listener Wiki](https://thelistener.fandom.com/wiki/The_Listener_Wiki)**
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> The Listener Wiki is a community site about the international hit show The Listener. Read about your favorite characters and episodes on The Listener Wikia.

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**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/33 "2020-08-03T21:37:38Z")

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This is my favourite suggestion so far, and I’ll tell you why: I’m in this show. Season 01, Episode 04 “Some Kind Of Love”. Guy in the stretcher on the fire escape. Thanks!

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**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/34 "2020-08-03T21:47:56Z")

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I’m rewatching the series now and will look for that scene.

Cable airs 2 episodes on Sunday evening.

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/35 "2020-08-04T01:50:17Z")

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Just occurred to me to check for a reboot of the old “Equalizer” series. Turns out at least a pilot is in the works.

> **[The Equalizer (TV Series 2021– ) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11242246/reference)**
>
> The Equalizer (TV Series 2021– ) Reference View

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**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/38 "2020-08-04T08:02:31Z")

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Weirdly, the new “Witcher” series on Netflix comes close. As someone said, they were trying to make the next “Game of Thrones”, but instead made the next “Xena: Warrior Princess” - and that’s not a bad thing.

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**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/39 "2020-08-04T13:18:23Z")

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If you liked **The Fugitive** then there was a show which is older than you requested and requires a certain mindset but you could enjoy…

**Renegade** starring Lorenzo Lamas was clearly based on **The Fugitive**. The show described itself as:

_He was a cop, and good at his job, but he committed the ultimate sin—and testified against other cops gone bad. Cops that tried to kill him, but got the woman he loved instead. Framed for murder, now he prowls the badlands…an outlaw hunting outlaws…a bounty hunter…a renegade._

It ran from 1992 to 1997 for five seasons. It was supposedly a straight action/drama but it was so ludicrous it was nearly comedy. A fugitive from the police becomes… A bounty hunter? Utilising every tough guy cliche in the book he rides around on a motorcycle wearing mirrored shades, a long coat toting a shotgun.

I loved it. But I treated it as an unintentional comedy.

It reached an ambiguous ending although a clearly final episode was produced but they chose not to air it.

TCMF-2L

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**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ish-tv-show-like-the-fugitive-or-quantum-leap/917019/40 "2020-08-04T18:50:05Z")

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Maybe Tru Calling? Lasted just over a season and is about a grad student who gets asked by corpses to help them not die. We enjoyed it.

We liked all seasons of Travelers and am bummed it’s over.

We also liked Pretender, as someone mentioned. Good show about someone helping others. There was also a good metaplot happening in each episode.

I love Doctor Who but of the NuWho, I think the first seasons, with Eccleston and Tennant were best due to the writing. Moffatt and Chubnull as EP/writers are good at scenes/moments but not great at stories.

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