Quantum Leap Cancelled: NBC Exec Explains Why It Didn’t Move to Peacock
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Following Quantum Leap’s cancellation after two seasons, Jeff Bader, President of Program Planning Strategy at NBCUniversal Entertainment, has spoken up about why the show didn’t move to Peacock like it’s network sibling Law & Order: Organized Crime.
“Organized Crime is a VERY successful show; this isn’t a show that was on the bubble,” Bader tells TVLine. “It’s a show that works across the board, and it’s very, very strong on streaming. [Moving Season 5 to Peacock] is a win-win for us — 80% of its viewing isn’t in the time period where we schedule it, it’s delayed on Peacock, so it just made sense to move that to free up the time period.”
More from TVLine
Did The Voice's John Legend Just Issue the Biggest Dis Since Adam Levine?
The Voice Semi-Finals Recap: Which of the Top 9 Performed Like a Perfect 10?
The NBC exec noted that it’s a “different discussion with Quantum, which was just a much softer show, performance-wise.”
Quantum Leap Season 2 averaged barely 3 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating (with Live+7 playback), down a steep 23% and 34% from its freshman numbers. And out of the 12 original or acquired dramas that NBC aired this TV season, its audience only bested Transplant’s.
Organized Crime, meanwhile, has been averaging 5.3 million viewers and a 0.6 rating — veritably matching last season’s numbers and ranking much higher among NBC’s drama slate.
Quantum Leap centered on Raymond Lee’s Ben Song making an unauthorized leap decades after original leaper Sam Beckett (played in the original series by Scott Bakula) was lost to time and space.
The sci-fi show’s shortened, 13-episode sophomore run ended with a two-hour finale on Feb. 20 that revealed Ben’s new paramour Hannah (recurring guest star Eliza Taylor) had created a code to bring him home — the caveat being that someone would swap places with him. Addison (Caitlin Bassett) made the jump and wound up right alongside Ben in the past. (Read our finale post-mortem interview with the EPs here.)
The ensemble also included Ernie Hudson as Magic, Mason Alexander Park as Ian and Nanrisa Lee as Jenn.
When Is Your Favorite TV Show Back?
Best of TVLine
Summer TV Calendar: Your Guide to 85+ Season and Series Premieres
Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Showtime Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?)
Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
