The countdown is on for the return of Quantum Leap to NBC in a fall TV season that is short on new content, thanks to the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike. The last episode of the Season 1 finale was cryptic, with showrunner Martin Gero weighing in on what would happen next. There are big questions about where Season 2 picks up, and while fans will have to wait until the October premiere to see Ben Song and Co. back in action, NBC released some details about the cast, including new series regulars, guest stars, and a Manifest familiar face returning to the network.
Eliza Taylor, known for her starring role in The CW's The 100 through opposite her real-life husband, joins Quantum Leap as a series regular to play a complicated woman by the name of Hannah Carson, to whom there's more than initially meets the eye. While she is a regular for Season 2, she won't appear until the third episode, which will presumably air in late October after the second season premiere on October 4. While there's not a whole lot known about Taylor's new character, it seems safe to say that she's a far cry from The 100's Clarke Griffin!
Peter Gadiot, who appeared in the first season of Showtime's Yellowjackets, is on board as a regular as US Army Officer Tom Westfall. The new character has a place in Army Intelligence. He'll have an important role with the project, and is a humble and spiritual warrior who wins the admiration of others. It's not clear just yet when he'll debut, but given that he'll be part of overseeing the project, it seems likely that he'll appear quite early on in Season 2. What has been confirmed is that viewers won't have long to wait to see a Manifest star back on NBC!
Melissa Roxburgh starred in Manifest on NBC for three seasons before the show was cancelled and rescued by Netflix, and she's on board Quantum Leap to appear in the Season 2 premiere. The actress, who shared her thoughts on how Manifest ended, is a guest star. The premiere of the new season is called "This Took Too Long!" and will involve Russia in 1978. If Roxburgh's character is part of the 1978 plot in Russia, it seems unlikely that she could reprise her role, but it's too soon to say. It's possible that she'll be involved in the project.
Also guest starring in the Season 2 premiere are The Borgias' Francois Arnaud, Hannibal's Aaron Abrams, and The Boys' P.J. Byrne. As new series regulars, Eliza Taylor and Peter Gadiot join returning stars Raymond Lee (Ben Song), Caitlin Bassett (Addison Augustine), Ernie Hudson (Herbert "Magic" Williams), Nanrisa Lee (Jenn Chou), and Mason Alexander Park (Ian Wright).
Season 2 of Quantum Leap will premiere on Wednesday, October 4 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC in the 2023 TV schedule, in what is usually Chicago Med's time slot. It will lead in to Season 5 of Magnum P.I., which just released a teaser of what to expect of Magnum and Co. this fall. If you want a fix of Quantum Leap ahead of the October 4 return, you can check out the full Season 1 streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription!
