Quantum Leap Reboot Announces Principal Cast Including Raymond Lee, Ernie Hudson, And Mason Alexander Park
A flurry of recent casting announcements have revealed the actors who will comprise the principal cast of NBC’s upcoming Quantum Leap reboot, with those attached ranging from Cowboy Bebop’s Mason Alexander Park to Ghostbusters’ Ernie Hudson.
After having been silent on the project since green-lighting it in January, NBC began unveiling the reboot’s cast on March 4th, first announcing that Here and Now star Raymond Lee as “Dr. Ben Seong, a spiritual successor to Scott Bakula’s Dr. Sam Beckett from the original series.”
A casting call for the series previously provided by That Hashtag Show described the character – initially named Dr. Ben Prassad – as “a first-generation American, a world-renowned physicist, and a man of faith” who is “also working on Quantum Leap, a time travel project.”
“But when he uses the project on himself, he’s transported back to the late 80s and struck with a bout of amnesia – forgetting what made him time travel in the first place,” the casting call added.
Lee confirmed the casting on Instagram, as you can see below.
Next, on March 8th, the network revealed that Hudson had signed on to the reboot to portray Herbert “Magic” Williams, “a Vietnam veteran and head of the time travel project at Quantum Leap” who, “using a bit of politicking and his military know-how to keep the Pentagon at bay, buys the team some time to rescue Ben but expects answers once he’s back.”
NBC rounded out these announcements on March 9th with the reveal that three more actors had been added to the series’ cast, including Bosch actress Nanrisa Lee as Jenn, detailed in the aforementioned casting call as “Head of security at Quantum Leap HQ. Described as quirky but formidable, she makes it her mission to figure out how Ben could have both leapt back in time and erased all evidence of the leap in the future.”
Non-binary Cowboy Bebop actor Mason Alexander Park as the Quantum Leap project’s similarly non-binary “chief architect of the AI program, who prefers the company of computers to that of other people.”
And newcomer Caitlin Bassett as Addison, “a smart, witty, fearless ex-military operative who now serves as a project lead at Quantum Leap HQ,” who is “in charge of the technology they use to communicate with the past, and tries to rescue Ben from his time-flung existence.”
According to a synopsis provided by NBC alongside the show’s casting call, the upcoming Quantum Leap will not be a full reimagining of the classic TV series, but rather a ‘soft reboot’ sequel that picks up in the aftermath of the original’s conclusion.
“It’s been 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished,” wrote the network. “Now a new team has been assembled to restart the project in the hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it.”
“Embracing the iconic series’ signature blend of humor, heart, and history, this reboot expands upon the Quantum Leap universe, taking us on a thrilling journey across space and time, exploring the timeless notion of what it’s like to walk in another person’s shoes, and the enduring value of changing lives for the better,” they added.
As of writing, original series star Scott Bakula has not been confirmed to return for the reboot.
Production on Quantum Leap is set to begin in March.
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