Quantum Leap has been cancelled by NBC after two seasons. The news came down on Friday regarding the follow up to the popular 90s scifi drama, and unfortunately it wasn’t much of a surprise.
This isn’t a diss on the show. We’ll get into the real problems that got it cancelled in a second. I thought Ben and Addison did the best they could trying to fill the unfillable shoes of Sam and Al. This show did fine in the heart department.
But here are the reasons Quantum Leap did get cancelled.
Low Ratings: By the time the show wrapped up it’s second season the numbers were undefendable. But that’s not the show’s fault because of…
More scheduling goofs by NBC: NBC continues to schedule it’s shows very poorly. Quantum Leap was swapped from it’s season one slot and the fans had an even tougher time finding it in a more competitive time. Throw this show into the American Auto/Grand Crew pile of solid shows that were scheduled poorly.
You’ve been warned “Found” and “The Irrational” fans. The peacock gives you two seasons, then it goes for your throat.
No Scott Bakula: This show depended on legacy fans from the first series. But when it became clear that Sam wasn’t going to officially hand off the baton to Ben, a lot of older fans weren’t going to chase the show down to continue watching it. We needed what John Larroquette did for Night Court with the push for this show.
Yeah, there are a lot of reasons to be bummed about the cancellation. But I remember blogging that I might not even consider watching the show. But I did. And it won me over.
And I”m happy for the two seasons that we did get. And hopefully we can appreciate the mythology of both stories moving into the future.
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