Freemantle Set to Reboot 'Baywatch'

April 15, 2023

LOS ANGELES – “Baywatch” is returning, according to TheWrap, which reports Freemantle is developing a reboot of the syndicated series. No producers are attached so far.

The original show, which starred David Hasselhoff and popularized Pamela Anderson, first aired on NBC in 1989, before become a staple of syndication the following year, airing until summer 2001. The show was based around a group of lifeguards – both the emergencies that they are faced with and their interpersonal relationships.

The large ensemble cast, frequently changed over the years and originally featured Hasselhoff, Parker Stevenson, Erika Eleniak, Billy Warlock and Shawn Weatherly. Two years later, the cast was overhauled and featured Hasselhoff, Anderson, Warlock, Nicole Eggert, David Charvet, Gregory Alan Williams and Jeremy Jackson.

The series went on to inspire the spinoff “Baywatch Nights,” running from 1995 to 1997. The original version of the show featured Hasselhoff, whose character was now part of a private detective agency, as a remake of series “Peter Gunn”. When that concept failed to connect with viewers, the series was heavily rejiggered in Season 2, taking on a sci-fi dimension meant to exploit the then-booming science fiction craze kicked off by “The X-Files.” The show was so unpopular that the production company paid channels to air it. In the final seasons of “Baywatch,” faced with the increasing cost of filming in California, was transformed into “Baywatch: Hawaii” although the original plan was to shoot in Australia under the name of “Baywatch: Down Under.”