We’re truly living in a world of remakes and reboots, and with a number of IPs from the 1980s and ‘90s finding new life in the current decade — including Bel-Air, That ‘90s Show, Night Court with John Larroquette and so many more — the fact that Baywatch hasn’t already been revisited is almost surprising. That may be about to change. Only months after Carmen Electra said she’d be willing to don the trademark red swimsuit, talks of a Baywatch remake are reportedly in the works.
Deadline reports that Fremantle has apparently been working on developing a reboot of Baywatch, which premiered in 1989 and ran for 11 seasons, spawning both a spinoff series and a movie. The production company apparently has engaged in early talks with both broadcasters and streamers, but no creatives are yet attached to the project.
With the possible reboot in such early stages, we can only speculate what the new series would entail. Certainly a new group of lifeguards would be featured to patrol the beaches of whatever locale is decided on, be that Los Angeles, Hawaii or somewhere different altogether. We’ll also hopefully be treated to some familiar faces from the original series, as Carmen Electra is one former star who has expressed interest in filming more.
Back in January, the former Playboy Playmate said she’d love to reprise her old character, Lani McKenzie, if the show were rebooted, under one condition. While there’s no doubt Carmen Electra can still drop jaws in a bikini, she said wouldn’t want to be in the water so much. The actress is proud of the stunt work she did back in the day, but running into that freezing cold Pacific Ocean water sounds like an experience she’d be OK doing without.
That seems reasonable enough, and hopefully the sentiment is shared by other famous names associated with the iconic series, including David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Nicole Eggert and Jason Momoa. Can you even imagine getting more scenes like this from the Aquaman star?
The series inspired a spinoff, Baywatch Nights, which ran for two seasons from 1995 to 1997 and, along with David Hasselhoff, starred actors including Angie Harmon and Eddie Cibrian. A movie was also made in 2017 that starred Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario (who’s famous for a bikini scene not involving Baywatch’s red suit). However, the feature film was panned by critics.
Even Pamela Anderson agreed the “bad TV” of Baywatch didn’t translate well to the big screen, and David Hasselhoff said it was “not even close” to the same as the series. Apparently the negative reviews may be to blame for us not getting more Baywatch sooner. Fremantle COO Bob McCourt said in 2018 that a remake had “definitely been discussed,” per Deadline, but after the movie was not well-received, those plans were back-burnered.
Fans of the original Baywatch and of over-the-top dramas in general will surely be keeping a lookout from the lifeguard tower for more updates on this possible reboot. In the meantime, Baywatch is available to stream with an Amazon Prime Video subscription, and you can see all of the upcoming series premieres with our 2023 TV schedule.
