First Casting Made: Raymond Lee Cast as Leaper Dr Ben Seong

Spartan83

Project QL Assistant
Nov 16, 2021
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Quantum Leap: Raymond Lee Set to Succeed Scott Bakula in NBC Reboot

There are (potentially) a whole bunch of time warps in Raymond Lee’s future. The Kevin Can F**k Himself actor has landed the lead role in NBC’s in-the-works Quantum Leap reboot.


Per Deadline, Lee will play Dr. Ben Seong, a spiritual successor to Scott Bakula’s Dr. Sam Beckett. Ben is a world-renowned physicist working on a time-travel project known as Quantum Leap.

NBC has thus far only ordered a pilot.

The new iteration of Quantum Leap would pick up 30 years after Bakula’s Sam stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished, at which point “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.” (To answer the No. 1 question on your mind, a source tells TVLine that Bakula’s involvement in the new project is “to be determined.”)

Original series creator Don Bellisario is among the reboot’s executive producers, as is Deborah Pratt, who co-wrote, co-produced and narrated the introduction of the OG Quantum Leap. Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt (God Friended Me) will write and exec-produce the new take, while Martin Gero (Blindspot) will also serve as an EP.

https://tvline.com/2022/03/04/quantum-leap-reboot-raymond-lee-cast-nbc-sam-beckett/

Airing on NBC from 1989 through 1993, Quantum Leap followed Bakula’s physicist character as he traveled through time and “leapt” into someone else’s body in each episode, often to correct something that had gone wrong in the past. Sam was joined on his time-hopping excursions by hologram companion Admiral Al Calavicci, played for the series’ entire run by Dean Stockwell, who passed away in November.

In September 2021, Bakula told the late Bob Saget (on an episode of Saget’s podcast) that “very significant conversations” about a potential Quantum Leap reboot were happening, though he admitted, “I don’t know what it would be. I don’t know who would have it. The rights were a mess for years. I don’t know if they’re even sorted out now. That’s always been the biggest complication.” Earlier that year, the actor told TVLine that Quantum Leap “is very special to me,” and that he hoped any potential reinvention of the show would maintain the original’s “quaintness.”
 
What drove the story forward also was Sams Becketts need to save his father from dying a premature death, his brother from Vietnam and also his sister from an abusive partner, Scott pulled these off extremely well so I hope Raymond Lee has that same level of warmth and emotion.