Deadline reports that NBC's reboot of the hit sci-fi series Quantum Leap has tapped Canadian filmmaker and actress Helen Shaver to direct its pilot. Having recently directed episodes of Shaver Netflix's Maid and HBO Max's Station Eleven, Shaver will now take on the classic time travel comedy, which originally followed Dr. Samuel "Sam" Beckett (Scott Bakula), a physicist who leaps in time and enters the bodies of other people, usually making changes to history. The revival series will take place thirty years after Dr. Beckett vanished after entering his Quantum Leap accelerator, and will follow a new team who wish to restart his experiments and learn about Beckett in the process.
Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, who currently serve as showrunners on NBC's La Brea, wrote the pilot, and will also executive produce, along with Shaver, original Quantum Leap creator Don Bellisario, and Deborah Pratt, who voiced Ziggy the A.I. in the original series. Bakula is currently not officially attached to return as Dr. Sam Beckett, but has reportedly had conversations about a possible appearance.
The original Quantum Leap aired for five seasons from 1989 to 1993 on NBC, spanning ninety-seven episodes. The series started out with low ratings, but its finale garnered thirteen million views per household, and Quantum Leap is considered a major cult classic by many. In addition to Bakula and Pratt, the original series starred the late Dean Stockwell as Admiral Al Calavicci. It is not clear which, if any, original characters will appear in the new reboot.
On top of Maid and Station Eleven, Shaver has really made her mark as a television director to watch. The actress-turned-director has helmed episodes of 13 Reasons Why, Vikings, Orphan Black, Westworld, Snowpiercer, and Lovecraft County, showcasing her range. She also directed the 2020 Canadian drama Happy Place, about a group of women at an inpatient mental health clinic. As an actress, Shaver has appeared in The Amityville Horror, Tremors 2: Aftershocks, and the spin-off series Poltergeist: The Legacy.
The pilot is set to be produced by Universal Television.