The infamous lifeguards of Los Angeles County are coming back. Fox announced it has ordered a reboot of the legendary 1989 lifeguard series that is scheduled to air during the 2026-2027 broadcast season.
Details are far and few for now as the series is still in its beginning stages. Variety reports that Fox Entertainment and Fremantle are co-producing the reboot, with fans getting a 12-episode run.
Burn Notice and True Lies writer Matt Nix will lead the reboot as its showrunner and be executive producer alongside Michael Berk, Greg Bonann, Dante Di Loreto, and Doug Schwartz. Die-hard fans can clap in glee as Berk, Bonann, Di Loreto, and Schwartz are the original creators of Baywatch.
“In its first run, ‘Baywatch’ defined an entire era of beach life and elevated lifeguards to an iconic status. Now, with our partners at Fremantle, this television juggernaut is set for a modern-day comeback,” said Michael Thorn, President of Fox Television Network.
“Together, Fox and Fremantle, along with Matt Nix and original co-creator Greg Bonann, will bring the California dream to a whole new generation of fans with fresh stories, rising stars and all the spectacle that make the Baywatch franchise a global sensation.”
While the idea of a Baywatch reboot has been on the backburner for some time, there’s no official cast attached to the project yet.
Baywatch became a TV staple that aired in 1989 on NBC before it went through syndication. It ran for 11 seasons and 241 episodes before calling it quits in 2001. The series cast included some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, like David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson, who became synonymous with the red swimsuits and tans.
The series is one of the few that never got a spinoff or reboot despite its popularity. It was renamed Baywatch: Hawaii for its final two seasons, where filming was changed to the tropical island. In 2017, Zac Efron and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson starred in an action-comedy movie loosely based on the series.
