It's been said that back in the '90s, one of the most popular television shows on the planet was Baywatch. That’s not too hard to believe considering that showcasing pretty people in swimsuits is the sort of thing that can transcend cultural and language barriers. It’s also the sort of thing that is eventually going to lead to a potential reboot.
A Baywatch reboot is on the way from Burn Notice creator Matt Nix and McG, who is set to direct the pilot episode of the new show. We can expect lots of pretty people in bathing suits. However, one thing that fans should not expect when the new series debuts is jokes at the expense of the original series. McG tells Variety:
We never make fun of the original. Anything that proves to be as zeitgeisty as ‘Baywatch’ doesn’t deserve snark.
Honestly, I love this. I’m not a big fan of Baywatch or anything, but I’m generally not a fan of reboots or remakes that seem like they’re laughing at, rather than laughing with, previous entries in the franchise. Was Baywatch corny? Sure, it was, but the show always took itself seriously, and it was incredibly successful as exactly what it was.
Matt Nix tells Variety that the new version of Baywatch won’t be campy either. Stephen Amell is set to play Captain Hobie, the now-adult son of David Hassellhoff’s character from the original series. Plus, actor David Chokachi, who played Cody Madison for three seasons on the original show, will be returning. Suffice it to say that the series is being written as a continuation of the original rather than a full reboot, so it makes sense that the tone would remain the same.
This also opens the door to plenty of Baywatch cameos from the original cast. While nothing has been announced, Amell is very open to that happening. It would be somewhat strange to have a show that pokes fun at the original series if it also trades on the star power of that cast.
This will, of course, be in direct contrast to the last time we saw something new from Baywatch. The movie adaptation that starred Dwayne Johnson and Zach Efron was a comedy first, and it absolutely did make jokes at the expense of the series. The movie did pretty well in theaters, but was absolutely destroyed by critics. The people who made the movie largely didn’t have a great time. Efron has called his body "stupid" and regretted the way he prepared for the movie. Alexandra Daddario has been critical of her experience, and even The Rock has made fun of it.
Not making fun doesn’t mean that the new Baywatch won’t have fun. Matt Nix’s most successful TV series to date was Burn Notice, a spy series that had plenty of action and intrigue, but wasn’t afraid to also have a sense of humor. Baywatch could certainly end up being something similar in tone.
