# Quantum Leap reboot: series premiere and synopsis confirmed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [July 7, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572 "2022-07-07T18:47:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/1 "2022-07-07T18:47:35Z")
NBC has confirmed the premiere date of its new _Quantum Leap_ reboot. It’s set to premiere on Monday, September 19. > **[Quantum Leap reboot gets an official synopsis and premiere date](https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2022/07/quantum-leap-reboot-gets-an-official-synopsis-premiere-date/)** > > Having granted a full series order to the project back in May, NBC has now unveiled the official synopsis for Quantum Leap, the upcoming reboot / legacy sequel to the classic U.S. TV series which picks up some thirty years after Scott Bakula’s Dr.... > [@](#): > > The new series has been created by writers and showrunners Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt (God Friended Me, Alcatraz), and sees Raymond Lee (Here and Now, Kevin Can F\*\*k Himself) leading the cast as Dr. Ben Song (seen above), alongside Caitlin Bassett, Ernie Hudson, Mason Alexander Park and Nanrisa Lee. For those who don’t want to click the link, Dr. Song is the Leaper, taking the place of Dr. Sam Beckett. Caitlin Bassett is the hologram/Observer, Addison. Ernie Hudson plays Herbert “Magic” Williams, a career military man who is the head of the project. So, it looks like it took two actors to fill the role of the late Dean Stockwell as Al. It doesn’t look like it will be that much different from the original show. I’ll give it a try since Donald Bellisario and Deborah Pratt are two of the producers. Bonus, Deborah Pratt will play the voice of Ziggy again. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/2 "2022-07-07T19:09:24Z")
It would have to be one heckuva reboot to do without Bakula and Stockwell. I think I prefer to remain in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/3 "2022-07-07T19:17:35Z")
The same “Magic” Williams Sam Beckett leaped into in Vietnam? Huh. I also wonder whether having a non-white lead will ease some of the problematic aspects of the premise that weren’t as visible in the original run (e.g. the “white savior” implications of leaping into minority characters). One thing I’m NOT looking forward to: if they keep the “within the leaper’s own lifetime” premise, seeing the backward limit pushed forward to a time in which I was alive. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/4 "2022-07-07T20:29:01Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > if they keep the “within the leaper’s own lifetime” premise Since it is a continuation of Sam’s work, maybe he will leap within Sam’s lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/5 "2022-07-07T20:44:49Z")
Oh, boy. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/6 "2022-07-07T22:14:27Z")
Cool! Hope they do a good job. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/7 "2022-07-08T01:13:32Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Since it is a continuation of Sam’s work, maybe he will leap within Sam’s lifetime. I hope they can be smart and incorporate a well developed storyline that is respectful of the original series. Perhaps something like this new lead trying to save Dr. Beckett and getting caught in the time loop would make sense. I don’t think it would be a good idea to never reference the original series, as if it didn’t happen, since so many people tuning in will have been fans of the original series. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/8 "2022-07-08T01:23:47Z")
Cute. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/9 "2022-07-08T01:28:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Perhaps something like this new lead trying to save Dr. Beckett and getting caught in the time loop would make sense. I believe that is the premise. > [@](#): > > I don’t think it would be a good idea to never reference the original series, as if it didn’t happen, What gives you the idea they intend to do so? Everything I’ve seen about the new series shows that it is a continuation of the old one, with a certain amount of direct reference. Remember the VietNam episode where Sam saved his brother’s life? The soldier he leaped into was called Herbert “Magic” Williams. In the new series, the project head is called Herbert “Magic” Williams. It’s the same guy. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/10 "2022-07-08T01:45:58Z")
I definitely think that the series could be done with Bakula. Sure, the show depended on his skills and his relationship with Al, but I don’t remember anything super special that only one actor could ever pull off. There also, in my circles at least, has been a bit of a revival of the popularity of the original show, with people talking about rewatching it. And the shows with new seasons that seem to do well tend to have that pattern. They might not last as long as the original series, but they get a decent amount of shows in. I think it could do well, and will be very interested. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/11 "2022-07-09T01:30:51Z")
Great comments and thanks for talking about this as I hadn’t heard! yes to what people have said and it will be interesting to see what they do. I just watched the finale of Strange New Worlds and, no spoilers, it did a great job of being its own thing while paying tribute to TOS. I’m hopeful this can do the same. I’m curious if they are going to bring in the evil leaper story sooner? Thanks for the discussion! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/12 "2022-07-09T01:39:13Z")
Well, ya know, to me this show was all about the dichotomy between the ridiculously hot nice guy, and the sharp-dressed bad boy. The choice is obvious, of course, but I never tired of pondering the possibilities. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/13 "2022-07-09T14:04:26Z")
The original run was 97 episodes. Sam jumped into almost every imaginable situation. I can remember the well running dry by the final season. Maybe a new audience will find the reboot series and enjoy. I’ll watch the pilot and see for myself. They’ll have to bring something new to keep my attention. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/14 "2022-07-09T15:17:57Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The original run was 97 episodes. Sam jumped into almost every imaginable situation. I’d like to see some smart callbacks to some of those original jumps. Like, what if this new jumper jumped into somebody right after Sam had jumped out of them, and there were these references to what had happened in the original episode? Or they jump into somebody previously referenced in an earlier episode as benefitting from Sam’s previous jump. Or the person jumps into somebody who is interacting with somebody that Sam is in (although that would obviously be harder to pull off). ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/15 "2022-07-09T15:52:18Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > One thing I’m NOT looking forward to: if they keep the “within the leaper’s own lifetime” premise, seeing the backward limit pushed forward to a time in which I was alive To the audience of the original, that was all stuff that they were familiar with, it was one of the draws. I don’t know if today’s audiences are going to be as interested in leaps set back in the 50s and 60s. > [@Moriarty](#): > > I don’t think it would be a good idea to never reference the original series, as if it didn’t happen, since so many people tuning in will have been fans of the original series. Time travel is weird, and so it may be that the changes that Sam made meant that the project never happened and he never went back in time. This could be a new project that is completely unaware of the “previous” one until it is successful and they meet an older Scott Bakula who shows them the ropes. Of course, the original Quantum Leap envisioned a 1999 with much better technology for the most part than we have still today. Maybe Sam’s hopping about was responsible for that. It will be interesting to see where they go with this, I’m willing to give it a try, though I have to admit to some skepticism based on how bad _some_ reboots of popular 80’s shows have been. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/16 "2022-07-09T18:26:59Z")
I expect the time frame will shift to the new characters lifetime. He might be born in July 1987 and is 35. It would cover the late 80’s,90’s,00’s, and all the way until now. That would only overlap with Sam for a few years. There’s a lot of new history. Two wars, both Trade Center, attacks, Bill Clinton, Bush, Obama etc. I can see Sams replacement leaping into Linda Trip and telling _that_ story from her viewpoint. Probably tries to change history and warn Monica before anything happens. Fails and history repeats. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/17 "2022-07-09T19:26:33Z")
In reviewing online discussions of the reboot, it does look like the show is existing in a universe where Sam did exist; they are indeed trying to find him. Additionally, I note that there’s a couple of cast members part of the “team” trying to solve the mystery of Sam’s whereabouts. One of the team - Ben - ends up leaping himself, but the rest are still outside the machine. This suggests that this show will have parts of episodes in the “present”, while that didn’t happen in the original. > [@](#): > > Dr Sam Beckett had trodden into a quantum leap accelerator and missing without a trace. In order to delve deeper into the origins of the machine and the man who created it, a new squad of physicists, led by Ben Song (Raymond Lee), have been accumulated to start the project again in the expectation of discovering the anonymities with the machine and the creator. > > Ben, however, changes everything when he jumps into the past without authorization, leaving the team to figure out why he did it, parting it up to them to figure out why Ben did it. Ben (Caitlin Bassett) is constantly accompanied by Addison (Caitlin Bassett), who looks as if a hologram that can only be seen and heard by him as he leaps forward. It is no secret that she is a decorated veteran of the Army who brings precision and level-headedness to her work. > > There is no denying that Herbert “Magic” Williams (Ernie Hudson) is at the centre of an operation that is extremely confidential. As a practical soldier, he has to keep his bosses in the loop once the news of breaking the protocol is revealed to them. In addition to Ian Wright (Mason Alexander Park), who is running the Artificial Intelligence program Ziggy at the centre, Jenn Chou (Nanrisa Lee) is in charge of the project’s digital security and Jenn Chou (Nanrisa Lee) is in charge of the technology unit. > **[The Teal Mango | Anything But Traditional](https://www.thetealmango.com/)** > > We’re a Digital Platform offering the Latest Updates and News from Entertainment, Technology, Lifestyle and Food Industry. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/18 "2022-07-14T21:02:37Z")
IMDB says [Jewel Staite](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17043230/) is in it. Is she mentioned anywhere else? Been a bit since I saw her in anything. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2022, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/19 "2022-09-16T00:20:28Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > In reviewing online discussions of the reboot, it does look like the show is existing in a universe where Sam did exist; they are indeed trying to find him. [And maybe they will.](https://tvline.com/2022/08/10/quantum-leap-scott-bakula-return-sam-beckett-nbc-reboot/) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572/20 "2022-09-16T00:38:17Z")
Or maybe they won’t. > **[Scott Bakula Addresses ‘Quantum Leap’ Reboot Involvement Speculation, Says It...](https://deadline.com/2022/09/scott-bakula-reaction-quantum-leap-reboot-involvement-pass-1235119537/)** > > Scott Bakula is setting the record straight on why he is not involved in NBC’s Quantum Leap reboot and shuts down any speculation that he might reprise his role on the sequel, which premieres… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-leap-reboot-series-premiere-and-synopsis-confirmed/967572.md?page=2)