February is about to be a tough month for sci-fi fans at Netflix. Just six months after the streamer brought an unfairly cancelled reboot of an ‘80s sci-fi classic to its platform, the streamer is already getting ready to drop that same series from its library in just a matter of days, leaving subscribers scrambling to figure out where they can watch it next.
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Both seasons of Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt’s Quantum Leap reboot leapt onto Netflix back in August. Unfortunately, the series was only given a short window, as it is already scheduled to exit the platform with a February 14th departure date. The show stars Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song in a story that picks up 30 years after Scott Bakula’s Dr. Sam Beckett vanished in the original NBC sci-fi classic, which ran for five seasons from 1989 until 1993. Caitlin Bassett, Mason Alexander Park, Nanrisa Lee, and Ernie Hudson round out the cast of the two-season time-traveling reboot.
NBC’s Quantum Leap Reboot Successfully Brought the Cult ‘80s Sci-Fi Show Into the 21st Century
Continuing a story decades after the original’s conclusion is no easy feat, but Quantum Leap was pretty successful at it. The series maintained the spirit of the original and acknowledged its lore right from the get-go, opening with Dr. Ben searching for the lost Dr. Sam and the new team attempting to honor the work of the original project. The show also stuck to an episodic “leap of the week” structure that saw Ben inhabit a new person in a different time period each episode. At the same time, the reboot also expanded the original’s scope with updated technology and much higher stakes that balanced that episodic formula with a longer, serialized arc focused on a dangerous, unauthorized mission, bigger leaps, and more immediate and consequential impacts on the present day.
Although the show earned mixed reviews from critics with a 58% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was pretty well-received by general audiences with an average 73% audience rating. More than just being a successful continuation of the original’s story, the Quantum Leap reboot’s emotional, character-driven stories and strong ensemble cast made it easy to invest in the storylines and keep coming back for more. Despite garnering a loyal fanbase and delivering a second season that managed to avoid the sophomore slump with better-developed storylines and more consistent connections to the original show, NBC cancelled the Quantum Leap reboot after just two seasons amid a drop in viewership.
Where to Stream Quantum Leap After It Leaves Netflix?
That unfortunately still isn’t known. Netflix was something of a saving grace for fans of the show, as the Quantum Leap reboot was quietly pulled from Peacock not long after its cancellation at NBC and had been pretty difficult to find until Netflix brought both seasons to its platform in August. Throughout its multi-month streaming window on the service, Netflix has been the only streamer to carry the reboot. Quantum Leap wasn’t featured on any of the streaming platform’s February lineups either, so it seems the series is getting ready to leap back into the void until another platform hopefully pulls it back.
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Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
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