Fox is putting Baywatch back on patrol.
The network has placed a series order for an update of the lifeguard drama, a staple of syndicated TV in the 1990s. The new Baywatch is set to air 12 episodes in the 2026-27 season and comes from Fox Entertainment and Fremantle, which holds the rights to the original series.
Matt Nix (Burn Notice, CBS’ True Lies) will serve as showunner on the new series and executive produce with Baywatch creators Michael Berk, Greg Bonann and Doug Schwartz and Dante Di Loreto.
“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,” Fox Television Network president Michael Thorn said in a statement. “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.”
Baywatch premiered as an NBC movie in 1989 and aired one season on the network in 1989-90 before moving into syndication for the rest of its run. The series starred David Hasselhoff as the head of a team of lifeguards in Southern California (and later Hawaii). Over its 11 seasons, the cast also featured Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Parker Stevenson, Nicole Eggert, David Charvet, Carmen Electra and Jason Momoa, among others.
“Baywatch has always been a treasured asset in Fremantle’s portfolio and remains one of the most iconic series in television history globally,” said Christian Vesper, CEO global drama at Fremantle. “We have found the perfect partners in Fox to help us maintain this legacy. With Matt Nix at the helm, we are in great hands, as he excels at telling engaging and entertaining stories. Our goal is to reconnect with existing fans while also introducing a new generation to the world of these famous lifeguards.”
Fox’s description of the new Baywatch will feature “all the adrenaline-fueled rescues, tangled relationships, complicated chemistry and beachside heroics that defined the original — now with an entirely new cast, contemporary trappings, tensions and challenges, and a renewed mission to protect Southern California’s shoreline.”
Fox aired another lifeguard series, the Hawaii-set Rescue: Hi-Surf, last season, but the show was canceled in May.
The original series also spawned a spinoff, Baywatch Nights, in which Hasselhoff’s character, Mitch Buchanon, joins his friend Garner Ellerbee (Gregory Alan Williams) in a private detective agency. Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron starred in a 2017 movie adaptation, and a Hulu docuseries last year featured interviews with a number of alumni.