#Quantum Leap: Why the Cancelled Sci-Fi Series Isn’t Moving to Peacock Like Law & Order: Organized Crime

(Photo: NBC)

Last month, NBC cancelled Quantum Leap after two seasons, and many are wondering why the series was not moved over to Peacock, like Law & Order: Organized Crime. The procedural drama is moving to the streaming service for its fifth season instead of remaining on NBC.

Raymond Lee, Caitlin Bassett, Ernie Hudson, Mason Alexander Park, Nanrisa Lee, Eliza Taylor, and Peter Gadiot starred in the Quantum Leap series, which follows Ben Song (Lee) as he relaunches the Quantum Leap project and finds himself traveling through time much like his predecessor Sam Beckett did in the original series.

Jeff Bader, president of program planning strategy at NBCUniversal Entertainment, explained that the Quantum Leap’s cancellation was due to performance. He said the following, per Deadline:

“Organized Crime is a VERY successful show; this isn’t a show that was on the bubble. 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.”

[It’s a] different discussion with Quantum, which was just a much softer show, performance-wise.”

Quantum Leap’s ratings dropped sharply in its second season, making it one of NBC’s least-watched scripted series of the season.

What do you think? Are you a fan of Quantum Leap? Would you watch a third season on another channel or streaming service?