The first full-length trailer for NBC’s Quantum Leap sequel series introduces audiences to the show’s newest generation of time travelers. Based on the original series, which ran from 1989 to 1993, the latest Quantum Leap stars Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Seong, a brilliant physicist whose team sets out to restart the Quantum Leap project. Set roughly 30 years after the events of the first series, the show will find Lee’s character following in the footsteps of Scott Bakula’s Dr. Samuel Beckett as he is lost in time, leaping from life to life and changing history for the better.
Throughout its initial five-season run, the original series earned itself a legion of fans and collected a swathe of awards, including seven Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe for each of its two leads, Bakula and the late Dean Stockwell. Ever since the show wrapped in 1993, whispers of a potential series revival or feature film have surfaced multiple times over the years. Finally, in January of this year, a pilot episode for the sequel series was greenlit with Lee in the lead role. Additionally, Quantum Leap cast Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson as Herbert “Magic” Williams, a former Vietnam veteran who serves as the new Quantum Leap project lead, and also happens to be one of the characters Sam Beckett leaped into during the course of the original series.
With the new season set to make its debut on September 19, NBC now drops a new trailer on YouTube featuring a good look at Lee’s time-traveling Dr. Seong and the difficult situations he suddenly finds himself thrust into. The trailer also introduces Caitlin Bassett’s Addison, who, like Stockwell’s Al Calavicci in the original series, appears to Lee’s character as a hologram that only he can see and hear. To further complicate matters, however, the trailer also hints at a romantic connection between the two. Check out the new trailer below:
From all appearances, the trailer promises a show that sticks very close to the premise of the original fan-favorite. From Dr. Ben Seong’s Swiss cheese memory problems to the constant leaping into difficult situations, the sequel is drawing on many of the features that endeared the first series to audiences during the early ‘90s. Whether Lee and Bassett will have the same audience appeal as Bakula and Stockwell remains to be seen, but the promise of a romantic entanglement gives the new series a fresh twist.
While fans of the original will be keen to see what this latest iteration of Quantum Leap will have in store, the one question that remains to be answered is, what happened to Dr. Samuel Beckett? With the show’s creative team working hard to make connections to the original series, many fans will be wondering if Lee’s Dr. Seong will ever get the chance to cross paths with Bakula’s Dr. Beckett. Though this latest trailer does not give any indication that such a meeting is in the cards, it would likely serve to further ignite interest in the new series, should the show’s creative team choose to move in that direction. Regardless, the new Quantum Leap trailer suggests the sequel series is taking many cues from its predecessor in preparation for its debut on NBC and Peacock later this month.
