EXCLUSIVE: There’s a commotion behind the scenes at NBC’s new drama series Quantum Leap, starring Raymond Lee. Martin Gero, who has served the project as an EP since the development phase, has stepped in as the new showrunner. Dean Georgaris has also joined the series as Executive Producer on the reboot of the popular 1990’s sci-fi drama. Gero is doing show running duties for Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, who wrote the pilot and will remain on the show as executive producers.
Gero and Georgaris are both seasoned showrunners with multiple series under their belts; both are signed to Universal Television, the studio behind the Quantum Leap reboot.
The change comes after the show filmed the first two episodes after the pilot, I hear. As Deadline reported in May, at the time Quantum Leap was picked up on the series, NBC wasn’t entirely happy with the pilot. I’ve heard the pilot is still airing, but not as the show’s opening episode; Say it might be episode 3.
Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters boss Thor Freudenthal, who helmed the pilots for NBC’s La Brea and Prime Video’s Carnival Row, is directing the new pilot episode.
The reasons for the showrunner shock aren’t entirely clear. There’s been talk of scripts being late, but I’ve heard that Quantum Leap, which is on the fall schedule, has a very, very tight production schedule that is putting pressure on everyone involved. Due to the closeness of things, filming will continue without a break after the showrunner change I hear. They say NBC fans are creatively content with what they see. The new roles of Gero and Georgaris bring a steady, experienced hand to a challenging production that aims to deliver on the high expectations of re-imagining the classic in a super tight time frame.
Most recently, Georgaris wrote and directed NBC’s pilot drama Blank Slate, which the network shared last week despite good internal response. His joining of Quantum Leap has no impact on Blank Slate, which is actively purchased by Universal Studios.
The sequel series Quantum Leap is set in the present. It’s been 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett climbed into the Quantum Leap Accelerator and disappeared. Now a new team has been assembled to restart the project in hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it.
However, everything changes when Ben takes an illegal leap into the past, leaving the team to solve the mystery of why he did it. By Ben’s side during his jumps is Addison (Caitlin Bassett), who appears in the form of a hologram only Ben can see and hear. She is a distinguished Army veteran who carries out her job with level-headed precision.
At the helm of the top-secret operation is Herbert “Magic” Williams (Ernie Hudson), a no-nonsense career military man who must answer to his bosses, who will not be happy to learn of the breach of protocol. The rest of the team at headquarters consists of Ian Wright (Mason Alexander Park), who leads the artificial intelligence department “Ziggy” and Jenn Chou (Nanrisa Lee), who leads digital security for the project.
As Ben jumps from life to life and makes amends for what went wrong, it becomes clear that he and the team are on an exciting journey. However, Addison, Magic, Ian and Jenn know that if they are to solve the mystery of Ben’s leap and bring him home, they must act quickly or lose him forever.
Lee plays Dr. Ben Seong.
Gero and Georgaris executive producers with Don Bellisario and Deborah Pratt. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, produces in association with I Have an Idea! Entertainment, Belisarius Productions and Quinn’s House Productions.
Freudenthal, who has just directed the first four episodes of The Therapy for Amazon Germany, will be represented by Gersh, the Gotham Group and Rob Szymanski.