
Scripted series · NBC
Quantum Leap
Oh Boy!
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Quantum Leap actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Quantum Leap reads strongest on Spectacle, Character Depth and Bingeability.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.
The run
Seasons
5 seasons · 96 episodes.

Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
19898 episodes
7.2IMDbBest episode · S01E06 The Color of Truth

Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
198922 episodes
7.0IMDbBest episode · S02E22 M.I.A.

Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
199022 episodes
7.2IMDbBest episode · S03E01 The Leap Home (1)

Season 4 · Complete
Season 4
199122 episodes
7.2IMDbBest episode · S04E22 A Leap for Lisa

Season 5 · Complete
Season 5
199222 episodes
7.3IMDbBest episode · S05E22 Mirror Image
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

S05E22
Mirror Image
August 8, 1953: Sam lands in a not-so-ordinary bar in a coal-mining town, where strange things are happening and familiar people don't know him. With the help of another Al, he still has something to set right ... or is there more than one thing he needs to change?
- Directed by James Whitmore Jr.
- Written by Donald P. Bellisario

S03E01
The Leap Home (1)
November 25, 1969: As himself at the age of 16, Sam has the opportunity to both win the high school basketball championship and save his family from their sad fates.
- Directed by Joe Napolitano
- Written by Donald P. Bellisario

S02E22
M.I.A.
April 1, 1969: When Sam leaps into the life of an undercover cop, Al explains that his mission is to convince a navy nurse that her MIA husband is still alive, and to prevent her from marrying a lawyer she meets on the day Sam leaps in. But a series of coincidences causes Sam to wonder about the true nature of his mission.
- Directed by Michael Zinberg
- Written by Donald P. Bellisario

S02E09
So Help Me God
July 29, 1957: Though he can't remember much more than habeas corpus, Sam finds himself the defense attorney for a young black woman accused of murdering the son of the most powerful man in a small Louisiana town.
- Directed by Andy Cadiff
- Written by Deborah Pratt

S04E22
A Leap for Lisa
June 25, 1957: Sam leaps into Al Calavicci to prevent the death of his married lover. But when Sam accidentally alters history, and finds out too late about her untimely demise, it could mean the gas chamber for Al and disturbingly a whole new situation at Project Quantum Leap.
- Directed by James Whitmore Jr.
- Written by Donald P. Bellisario

S01E06
The Color of Truth
August 8, 1955: Sam experiences racism firsthand when he leaps into the body of an elderly black man in the pre-civil rights South of 1955.
- Directed by Michael Vejar
- Written by Deborah Pratt
Recently aired
Latest Episodes

S05E22
Mirror Image
- Directed by James Whitmore Jr.
- Written by Donald P. Bellisario

S05E21
Memphis Melody
- Directed by James Whitmore Jr.
- Written by Robin Bernheim Burger

S05E20
The Leap Between the States
- Directed by David Hemmings
- Written by Richard C. Okie

S05E19
The Beast Within
- Directed by Gus Trikonis
- Written by John D'Aquino

S05E18
Goodbye Norma Jean
- Directed by Christopher Hibler
- Written by Richard C. Okie

S05E17
Revenge of the Evil Leaper (2)
- Directed by Debbie Allen
- Written by Deborah Pratt
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.

Donald P. Bellisario
Showrunner

Michael Zinberg
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Paul M. Belous
Writer

Julie Brown
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Bobby Duncan
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Danielle Alexandra
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Paris Qualles
Writer

Robin Bernheim Burger
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Tommy Thompson
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Tammy Ader
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Chris Ruppenthal
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Robert Wolterstorff
Writer

Scott Shepherd
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Beverly Bridges
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Chris Abbott
Writer
- Photo unavailable
John Hill
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Deborah Arakelian
Writer

Toni Graphia
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Sandy Fries
Writer

Cristy Dawson
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Richard C. Okie
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Sam Rolfe
Writer

John D'Aquino
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Gillian Horvath
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Paul Brown
Writer

Deborah Pratt
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Ed Scharlach
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Michael ZinbergProducer
- David BellisarioProducer
- Tommy ThompsonProducer
- Chris RuppenthalProducer
- Robert WolterstorffProducer
- Harker WadeProducer
Writing
- Michael ZinbergWriter
- Paul M. BelousWriter
- Julie BrownWriter
- Bobby DuncanWriter
- Danielle AlexandraWriter
- Paris QuallesWriter
Direction
- Michael ZinbergDirector
- Scott BakulaDirector
- Anita W. AddisonDirector
- Stuart MargolinDirector
- Gus TrikonisDirector
- David G. PhinneyDirector
Cinematography
- Henry M. LeboDirector of Photography
- Robert D. McBrideDirector of Photography
- Michael W. WatkinsDirector of Photography
- Jud KehlDirector of Photography
- Bradley B. SixDirector of Photography
- Robert PrimesDirector of Photography
Recognition
Awards
1 win
Genesis Award
1 win
- WinnerGenesis Award
Quantum Leap · Quantum Leap
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- PhiloStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
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