Collider: Is this something that you pursued doing?
Was it brought to you?
Did you need convincing to tackle something like this?
MARTIN GERO: It was brought to me.
I was very lucky.
I was originally just gonna be one of the executive producers.
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I was such a huge fan of the original that it was a no-brainer for me.
I was thrilled from the jump to be involved.
Thankfully, everyone was on the same page of needing to make it our own thing.
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It could not be a Sam and Al reboot, with different actors playing Sam and Al.
That wouldve been, not only disrespectful, but just wrong.
We wouldnt have done it.
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For us, it became really clear that we wanted it to be a straight-up sequel.
We talked very briefly about it being a reboot, but with different characters.
But to me, the ending ofQuantum Leap, the original show, was so controversial.
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At what point did all of that happen?
Where were things at, when you stepped in as showrunner?
GERO: I stepped in as showrunner during the filming of the first episode.
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For a bunch of reasons, that pilot wasnt right.
And so, we had a big conversation.
Pilots are very expensive, but they really do teach you an enormous amount about the show.
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One thing that we were very clear about is that we have the right cast.
The cast is fucking phenomenal.
I brought up doing a brand-new first episode.
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Everyone was like, Oh, God, are we throwing out this very expensive pilot?
And I was like, No, because we can maintain the leap.
The show is pretty modular, that way.
And then, in the middle of shooting that brand-new first episode is when I stepped in as showrunner.
And shuffling episodes is not something thats all that uncommon with a TV show.
GERO: Yeah, it happens everywhere.
When you have time and money, you’ve got the option to do it right.
Is that door closed?
Do you hope to return to a conversation with him, at some point?
I will respectfully always ask him to do the show.
I have a very, very good idea that Deborah knows about and that Don knows about.
I think it could be really exciting.
But I also completely respect his wishes.
He knows our enthusiasm for him.
He knows our enthusiasm, our love, and our reverence for the old show.
Its a no right now.
But the possibility could exist?
We need to alert the authorities.
We would all love for that to happen, but we completely honor and respect his wishes.
What are the challenges of making a series like that?
GERO: Its a lot of fun, from a writing standpoint.
Its a crazy joy.
Youre not just having to be like, How do we solve a murder this week?
Theres a tremendous amount of freedom in the ability to write these things.
Its notBlindspot, where we shot the show in like 16 countries.
Whereas with this, the learning curve is infinite.
Youre like, Oh, heres a great way to do a big episode.
Well use the six points Western streets on the Universal back and do a Western because its already there.
Thats basically a free set.
Like you said, its basically like doing a pilot every week.
But for us on the producing side, its been really hard, but really worth it.
GERO: Yes, but I dont wanna say what it is.
Can you say which episode?
The thing is, they truly are all big swings.
On paper, theyre all really dumb to try this early in a show.
And the Western is a perfect example of that because of the scope.
Its not even a sweeps episode or a midseason finale.
Were doing a horror movie right now for Halloween, which is so fun.
Its never the same thing twice.
GERO: Yes, and I love it.
Were doing our take onThe Exorcist, and its like really scary and good.
What are the rules of this version ofQuantum Leap?
Is it the same situation, where he can only jump in the years hes been alive?
Is it possible to have him jump further back?
GERO: So, hes broken the rules.
Sam had a certain set of rules, based on how he programmed the quantum leap accelerator.
Because Ben reprogrammed it right before he left, all bets are off, essentially.
He can jump outside of his lifetime.
Youve also said that he can jump into anyone, whether its people from different cultures or even women.
How do you approach those aspects of the show, with Raymond Lees performance?
Even our bad reviews are saying that Raymond is a star.
He is an undeniable presence and an infinite sense of empathy.
It should never be, Oh, hes a woman.
That is just a recipe for a disaster.
Decades later, I still think about that episode.
It really informed me, as a kid, and how I perceived the world through someone elses eyes.
Its an incredible machine that Don and Deborah made.
First and foremost, the show has to be fun.
Its a Monday night fun spectacular.
Where are you at in the production process, and how far ahead are you with the scripts?
GERO: Were currently shooting episodes six and seven, and weve broken up to episode 11.
With something like this, how far ahead do you have to think about the mythology of this show?
Do you have any details in mind for what your endpoint will eventually be?
Do you try not to ever think that far ahead, at least right now?
GERO: Something we developed onBlindspotthat worked for us was doing it one season at a time.
We have a beginning, middle, and end to this season.
We know what the end of the season is gonna be.
We know what the beginning of next season would be, and what next season would be about.
Were trying to treat it like a series of novels in a collection of books that you really love.
That avoids it being all middle.
This mythology doesnt have to sustain 50 episodes.
It only has to sustain, hopefully, 22 episodes.
Thats how the show doesnt feel boring by episode one hundred, if that makes any sense.
GERO: I had great fortune.
I occasionally will just make short films and not tell anyone about them.
Theyre like secret projects on the side.
Sometimes they lead to bigger things, but sometimes they dont.
Raymond was a part of one of those in 2019, and I was just blown away by him.
He had such a tiny part, but he was so funny.
And then, when he got cast Kevin Can Fuck Himself, that was it.
I was like, Hes gonna be too famous to ever work with again.
This is his upward swing.
It just timed out that he was finishing up with that show, right when this show was available.
He really has a Tom Hanks energy.
You just root for the guy.
There is noQuantum Leap 2.0without Raymond Lee.
Truly, the show would not work without him.
Ben has done this awful thing, not telling anybody that he was doing this.
He doesnt remember anybody, and hes in this situation, but nobody knows why.
Its amazing that you still cant help but really like him.
What we do is alchemy.
Its all just risks.
Thats why stuff doesnt work sometimes.
Youre just like, I dont know why that just didnt work.
She is way better than she should be, for this being basically her first professional gig.
What was the process for making that decision and having that connection?
Did you always know it would be that character, specifically?
GERO: We had been talking about ways to connect things to the past.
But we identified Magic as the character for a lot of reasons.
It also works, if you havent seen the original series.
Hes still a great actor and an interesting character.
That was every choice about bringing in mythology or Easter eggs.
We were like, Pretend Ive never seen the show.
Is this still interesting?
Is this still vital?
Does this still feel necessary?
Obviously, Ernie Hudson can just do anything, anyway.
Theres something so special about him, in general.
GERO: I totally agree.
Thats not a thing that should be allowed.
But yeah, hes so great.
Hes the nicest guy.
He also still has a real desire to do great work.
Its a three-page monologue, basically, and he nailed it.
Will we encounter any other previous characters from the original?
Is that something youre trying not to overdo, especially in the first season?
Its done in service to this new story.
Will we see any of the evil leapers from the original, or something like that?
GERO: Not from the original, but potentially, maybe, yeah.
Thats something to look out for.
What was it like to put this team together?
GERO: Yeah, that was basically it.
Everyone, except for Ernie and Ray, auditioned.
That was actually one of the things I really felt about the original pilot.
We have these actors, like Mason and Nanrisa, and we wanted to see them in the show.
They shouldnt be relegated to being exposition engines.
We needed to give them a little breathing room, so that we could get to know them.
Obviously, those characters will flesh out, over the course of the season.
We have time to get to them, in a way that we dont necessarily for Addison and Ben.
Theyre incredible, and youll be seeing more and more and more of them.
Why was it important to you to not stretch that out?
Its hard to root for somebody where youre like, I know this.
How do you not know this?
And emotionally, the show is so much more interesting, once he remembers.
Hes essentially almost a child right now, that shes gotta take care of.
How much do you tell the actors?
Do some know more than others?
Do you venture to not give them much information?
Do some want to know everything while others want to know nothing?
GERO: I believe in giving them whatever they want to know.
If they wanna know what the very end is, Ill tell them that moment.
They are trusted collaborators.
Ive never understood keeping the cast in the dark.
If they wanna know, then theyll know, but some of them just dont wanna know.
Some of them wanna experience it, an episode at a time, in real-time.
In watching this pilot, it really brings back a feeling that has felt missing for a while.
Im looking forward to seeing more of the season, to see how that really plays out.
GERO: Thats so nice.
There is no auteur in this camp.
It really is just a bunch of incredible people working together to make a thing were really passionate about.
Theyre so hard to make.
But this cast is incredible.
After the first five or six episodes, stuff starts to become clear.
It literally wasnt ready.
We were still working on episode one, several hours [before it was set to air].
These shows are done at such a pace that they air almost unfinished.
Its just a terrifying thing.
This beast constantly needs to be fed.
But were working with such an incredible team on the production side, on the post side.
Quantum Leapairs on Monday nights on NBC and is available to stream at Peacock.
