QUANTUM LEAP Stars And Executive Producers Tease Season 1 Finale, Future Leaping, And More!
"Judgment Day" Episode 118 — Pictured: (l-r) Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song, Mason Alexander Park as Ian (Image by: Trae Patton/NBC)
With just one more episode left in the first season of NBC’s hit revival of Quantum Leap, fans of the series have a lot of questions after last week’s penultimate episode, “The Friendly Skies”. What’s the truth behind Leaper X? What caused that nuclear winter? Will there be any Quantum Leap project left for Season 2?
Fashion and Fandom got a chance to catch up with stars Raymond Lee (Ben Song), Caitlin Bassett (Addison Augustine), Ernie Hudson (Herbert "Magic" Williams), Mason Alexander Park (Ian Wright), and Nanrisa Lee (Jenn Chou), as well as executive producers Dean Georgaris and Deborah Pratt recently at WonderCon 2023. We got a chance to talk to the team about the season finale, what to expect now that the show has officially been renewed for Season 2, and why this continuation of the classic series is more relevant than ever.
What can you say about the season finale?
Ernie Hudson: It's a roller coaster ride. I mean, there's a lot going on. It moves. It's fun to watch.
Mason Alexander Park: I think the final episode is one of my favorite episodes of the of the series so far. It's truly insane. And I'm just amazed that they've done it. And the last few episodes of the show, I think that all of us have been building to really get to a place where our characters are fully multi-dimensional human beings that not only have history, but also are deeply involved in the present beyond just like trying to troubleshoot better. I feel like when you're put under these kind of extenuating circumstances, often people have to rise to different occasions and be like, “well, I guess I have to do this this time.” And it's fun to watch each individual actor kind of like step into that role.
How painful is the hiatus going to be for everyone waiting for Season 2?
MAP: Hopefully not too painful. (laughter)
EH: I'm excited about it and I’m on the show. The way it’s unfolding. This new season is really, really exciting. Certainly for Magic.
As we head into the season finale, and then looking ahead toward Season 2 how much do the writers let the actors know what's coming up for their characters?
Dean Georgaris: We tell our cast a lot because I think in particular it's such a demanding show. And each leap is demanding so much of their acting, that you want to give them a sense of what the arc is going to be. So we tell them a lot. We trust them.
Raymond Lee: Yeah, they're an open book, whatever we need to know. They tell us.
The storylines have been really dynamic and really inclusive throughout Season 1. Can you tell us about how each of your respective characters has, and for yourself as well been dealing with some of the different storylines that have come through?
Nanrissa Lee: When we first start the show Jenn doesn't have the same background as the rest of her teammates. Her past is perhaps a little more colorful, she's done a little time. She’s a felon. And I think because of the way that she came in and the way that she grew up, it makes her a little bit different. I think over the course of the first season we do start to see Jenn sort of come into her own in some ways in terms of sort of how she may be feeling about her place on the team. I think the way she sees the rest of the people on her team is, they're all innately good.
RL: The story informs me. I first look at it, and I look at what is this episode about. What is the theme of it and I have to absorb that first. I was taught to think and care for other people. How I grew up, I was always looking to fix situations. So I think Ben song has something of that in him where he doesn't want to, but he can't help it. And so he finds people in situations, and he can't help it. So I just kind of keep having to look at each scene through this lens of, he can't help. And ultimately, there's a part of him that gets fulfilled by helping.
You can really see the chemistry of your cast, Tell us about what it's like to work with this cast.
MAP: You know, it's great. I, I feel like I've been just so lucky to be able to do shows with people that I really, really love. But this one, there's just a closeness that is really hard to fake or replicate certain people. I think all the creatives did a really great job of pairing together a group of individuals that like actually care about each other, which is so integral to the actual story of what this entire thing is about.
Caitlyn Bassett: Every actor learns in theatre school the most important person in the scene is your scene partner. And I think that’s on and off screen which what they don't teach you. And so as long as you're taking care of everybody — the actors the crew, you know, they take care of you. And it works.
RL: We're friends before anything else. And I think we're always constantly looking out for each other.
Quantum Leap cast at WonderCon 2023. Pictured: (l-r) Nanrissa Lee, Ernie Hudson, Caitlyn Bassett, Mason Alexander Park, Raymond Lee
(Image by: Fashion and Fandom)
What would you tell people who are experiencing reboot fatigue are some of the reasons they should check out Quantum Leap?
Deborah Pratt: Quantum Leap took a long time to come back. For reasons, most of the time, I don't understand. But the truth is, the show was always about hope. And it was always about people. And the fact that we experience universal stories all the time. So it's a really great family show to sit with your parents and your grandparents and your grandkids and sit and talk about what happened in, you know, these various periods of time. I think it also brings up something that has been lost, which is our ability to communicate with each other.
EH: I think it gives us a lot to, to process and to think about when we we look at different periods. We think it's all the same, but when you really go back 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, things have changed a lot. And we don't always realize how it's impacted. The show gives us a chance to do that. The whole thing of walking in someone else's shoes. That’s the thing that ties us all together — male, female, humanity This show reminds us that there's hope.
As we head into the Season 1 finale and onto the next season how will the show continue to honor the original series while also continue telling it’s own story?
DP: We've brought Magic back. And that was a huge thing to bring that connection. We've got Ziggy. So there are enough elements so that if you saw the original show, you feel like you are coming home. If you if you haven't seen the original show, you feel like you're on a new adventure. But again, we live in a time where there's little hope, and Quantum Leap brings that back. And we find that people that watch the show are moved by it. Inspired by it. And that's really exciting.
DG: People hear “reboot”, and they think we're gonna just copy what they did in a different era and stick it on now. And I think what they should hear is that was a really powerful universal story. This is a really interesting time in the world to start telling that story again. And I think that's really one of the many secrets behind Quantum Leap is that it's a show that seems to return to TV when we need it.
You can watch the Season 1 finale of Quantum Leap Monday at 10 p.m. ET, and stream it the next-day on Peacock.
Marena Bronson is an award-winning journalist, a life-long nerd, and the Editor-in-Chief of Fashion and Fandom. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.