NBC’s “Quantum Leap reboot airs its second episode tonight with Raymond Lee’s Ben Song going onto his next leap.
As previously reported, original series star Scott Bakula has publicly stated he has no involvement in the new series and wishes them well. That said, the new show exists in the same continuity as the old one and Bakula’s character Dr. Sam Beckett has been mentioned by name.
It would appear the show is leaving the possibility of Bakula’s return open in case the actor changes his mind. Showrunner Martin Gero, speaking with Collider recently, confirms that is the case when he was asked about getting Bakula to return, saying:
“I will respectfully always ask him to do the show. I have a very, very good idea that Deborah [Pratt, producer] knows about and that Don [Bellisario, producer] knows about. I think it could be really exciting. But I also completely respect his wishes.
He knows our enthusiasm for him. He knows our enthusiasm, our love, and our reverence for the old show. It’s a no right now. It would be pretty amazing to have him back, but I don’t know what that timeline looks like, or even if it’s possible.”
This would suggest it’s up to Bakula whether he wants to return, and when pressed about the possibility of a reunion, Gero said:
“Yes. I wanna be able to call his managers just enough where they feel like I want him on the show, but not enough where they’re like, ‘This is a possible stalker situation. We need to alert the authorities.’ We would all love for that to happen, but we completely honor and respect his wishes.”
The new show has been ordered to series, but the show’s debut came in at a relatively soft 3.5 million/0.5 rating in Live+Same Day which suggests NBC is going to wait and see how well the series performs on streaming before ordering any potential future seasons.
