Before Justin Hartley and wife Sofia Pernas were sharing the screen on Tracker, the fan-favorite couple made a joint guest appearance on Quantum Leap — but did they end up together in the sci-fi series?
Netflix fans tuning into NBC’s Quantum Leap for the first time after it premiered on Thursday, August 14, might be surprised to see Hartley in a season 1 episode. Titled “A Decent Proposal,” the episode follows Ben’s (Raymond Lee) leap to 1980s Los Angeles into the body of Eva Sandoval, a no-nonsense bounty hunter in the midst of securing an elusive target.
Hartley, for his part, played Eva’s boyfriend and hopeful fiancé, who proposed minutes into the episode. As for Pernas? Her role was a bit more complex because she was initially introduced as a woman running from the cartel before it turned out that she was actually the head of the organization.
“It was the absolute best. I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed as much on a set. We had such a good time. Sofia’s got a really great sense of humor,” Hartley gushed to E! News in October 2022. “There were a couple of moments where she took some liberties, she did a little ad-libbing, which allowed me to do a little ad-libbing. And the characters became more and more annoyed with each other — specifically, Jake becoming annoyed with her, not really the other way around — and we had a lot of fun with that.”
Hartley later said the experience made him even more excited to star alongside Pernas in future projects, sharing with the outlet four months later, “It’s amazing. It’s good for the environment, too. You can carpool and everything, so it’s wonderful. Absolutely we’ll do that. For sure.”
Justin Hartley and Sofia Pernas. Michael Courtney/CBS
Pernas, for her part, was thrilled to work with Hartley again. (They originally crossed paths while filming The Young and The Restless in 2015. Hartley and Pernas costarred on the soap for nearly a year before moving on to other projects.)
“It’s play. It’s not work,” Pernas told People at the time. “I get this question a lot where it’s like, ‘Do you guys work well together?’ ‘Would you want to work together?’ Because there are people out there that are like, ‘We can’t. We need a break from each other.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I want to do everything [with him]. We work very well together. So yeah, it’s funny that that’s actually the case.”
Michael Courtney/CBS Justin Hartley and wife Sofia Pernas melt our hearts every time they talk about getting the opportunity to work together. The couple originally met on the set of The Young and The Restless in 2015. After their first time as costars, Hartley and Pernas went their separate ways before reconnecting years later off […]
In February 2024, Hartley introduced Us to his CBS series, Tracker, where he plays a survivalist named Colter. The first season brought in Pernas as Colter’s competition and love interest, which paved the way for two more guest appearances in season 2.
“She’s wonderful. I mean, if I had my choice, I’d spend every minute with her,” Hartley told Us in July 2024. “What’s really cool is when you meet someone that means so much to you, that you’re so proud to be with and so proud of, and just such a fan of, and to get to see her work, because she’s such a talented actor. She elevates scenes, and so it makes my job easier, actually. But yeah, it’s just wonderful to work with her.”
Quantum Leap is currently streaming on Netflix.
