According to Deadline, Fox Television just gave green light to a Baywatch reboot. Twelve episodes were ordered straight-to-series, with a premiere date during the 2026-27 season on network TV. Baywatch has been in development since 2024 with Fox Entertainment. Recently, Matt Nix (True Lies, Turner & Hooch) was brought into the team as a writer and creator. Nix will also serve as the showrunner and executive producer. Bob McCourt (Sweet On You, The Night of The Cat) told Deadline back in June that it took months for the series to be picked up. He said, “The company was in advanced talks with Fox, that they were exploring filming locations.”
Deadline notes that the original series was filmed on the Los Angeles beaches for the first nine seasons before relocating to Hawaii for seasons ten and eleven. With the new tax credit in California, Fox is hoping to keep the filming of the new Baywatch in Southern California.
As the setting will be on Southern California beaches, the series will have rescues and hot and heavy relationships. The entirely new cast will still be outfitted with the red swimsuits that made the original Baywatch a success. The reboot will feature executive producers Michael Berk (SPF-18, Soul Surfer), Greg Bonann (SAF3, She Spies), Dante Di Loreto (Chasing Flavor, Little Bird), and Doug Schwartz (Soul Surfer, Cabin Pressure), along with Nix.
The President of Fox Television, Michael Thorn, told Deadline, “In its first run, Baywatch defined an entire era of beach life and elevated lifeguards to an iconic status. Now, without partners at Fremantle, this television juggernaut is set for a modern-day comeback. Together, Fox and Fremantle, also with Matt Nix and original co-creator Greg Bonann, will bring the California area to a whole new generation of fans with fresh stories, rising stars, and all the spectacle that makes the Baywatch franchise a global sensation.”
Christian Vesper, who is the CEO of Global Drama at Fremantle, also stated to Deadline, “Our goal is to reconnect with existing fans while also introducing a new generation to the world of these famous lifeguards.”