After more than two decades off our television screens, Baywatch looks set to make a return. Popular throughout the ’90s, the show followed the lives of beach lifeguards in California and ran for a tremendous 11 seasons before ending in 2001. Now the show is set to bounce its way back, red swimsuits and all.
The “action-packed” reboot will follow the lives of Los Angeles county lifeguards as they tackle emergencies, with the show’s official synopsis reading,
“Daring ocean rescues, pristine beaches, and iconic red bathing suits are back, along with a whole new generation of Baywatch lifeguards, who navigate complicated, messy personal lives in this action-packed reboot that demonstrates there’s the family you’re born into and the family you find.”
As with many shows from its time period, Baywatch will be getting a modern upgrade with showrunner Lara Olsen at the helm, alongside Baywatch creators Michael Berk, Greg Bonann, and Doug Schwartz. Olsen was responsible for the 90210 reboot and Netflix skating drama Spinning Out.
The producers from the original series will be back, meaning that, though an update will likely be necessary (’80s and ’90s representation of women in swimsuits may not cut it in today’s world), there will likely be concerted effort to keep what made it so watchable in the first place.
Baywatch was one of the most successful shows on television for some time, starring the likes of David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, and Yasmin Bleeth. Despite almost failing at the first hurdle and constant negative critical reviews, the show became one of the most-watched series of its time, pulling in 1.1 billion views weekly.
But all good things come to an end, and after moving the production from California to Hawaii to overcome the rising costs of shooting in L.A., the ratings started to drop and the show was eventually canceled in 2001.
From out of the ashes
In 2017, the franchise brought viewers a film starring Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Priyanka Chopra, and Alexandria Daddario. It flopped harder than a novice jumping in the pool from the top diving board, with critics universally panning the film.
Earlier plans to reboot the TV franchise were put on hold, with Fremantle (owner of the IP) COO Bob McCourt telling Deadline back in 2018, “I think we thought the film might have given us reason to reboot the TV series, but given the mixed reviews that didn’t happen straight away.”
Let’s hope that enough time has passed for everyone to have moved on from the wreckage of the film by the time the series hits our screens, courtesy of Fox Entertainment in co-production with Fremantle. It’s not yet known when we can expect to see the rebooted series or who’s even been cast in it (will Hasselhoff pick up his life float once more?), though with things so early in production, it seems likely to be a 2025 release.
But after a few years of speculation, at least we know it’s happening!
(featured image: Fremantle)
