Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
NBC shows off first footage from ‘Quantum Leap’ revival ahead of fall premiere
There's a new leaper, but it still has the same vibe fans know and love.
With the Quantum Leap revival set to take the primo post-The Voice slot on Monday nights this fall on NBC, the network showed off some early footage from the series at its annual upfront event showcasing new programming.
Though the trailer wasn’t released publicly, SYFY WIRE was tuned in to get a first look at how the beloved sci-fi series is being revived with a new mission for a new era. The show will follow Dr. Ben Seong (Raymond Lee) as he leaps into the past as part of the same Quantum Leap project that left Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) lost in the time stream so many years ago.
The preview showed what appears to be one of Ben’s (Raymond Lee) early jumps, where he seems to suffer from the same memory loss and confusion that plagued Sam (Scott Bakula) during his early leaps in the original 1989 series. This isn’t much of a shock, considering the series is billed as more of a revival and continuation of the original, as opposed to a straight-up reboot. So, it makes sense they'd go through the same fallout.
We see Ben leap into a father in San Francisco circa 1989 (which is the same year the original series premiered, a nice touch), on the day of the San Francisco earthquake. His task in this leap? Save the man’s son during the carnage and alter the trajectory of his life for the better. He’s joined by his own Al-like hologram in Addison (Caitlin Bassett), who shows up to try and help jog his memory about the Quantum Leap program. There’s also Ernie Hudson’s Herbert “Magic” Williams, who is still back in the future running the Quantum Leap mission and trying to figure out what went wrong with Ben’s early leap.
Attendees at the upfront event also had a chance to see how the classic special effects have been updated with a more modern look, while still staying true to the style fans have come to expect from the iconic sci-fi series. It’s a tough needle to thread, but seems to be on track to find the sweet spot that looks good and modern, while still staying true to that retro future 1980s-style aesthetic that defined the original series.
We also get a first look at one of Ben’s subsequent jumps from deeper into the season, which looks to drop him into a spaceflight launch as he leaps into an astronaut already strapped into the cockpit. Oh boy, indeed. For OG fans taking notes, there's even a funny spin on the classic “Oh boy,” line made famous by Sam in the original series — but we won’t spoil that here.
The Quantum Leap revival arrives this fall, airing Monday nights on NBC. In the meantime, the original Quantum Leap series is airing Fridays this summer on SYFY as part of SYFY Rewind.
