''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED first a ...

s who patrol the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

es of

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, starring

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...

. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, who produced the show throughout its 11-season run. The series focuses on both professional and personal challenges faced by the characters, portrayed by a large rotating

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

that includes

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997). Anders ...

, Alexandra Paul, Gregory Alan Williams, Jeremy Jackson, Parker Stevenson, David Chokachi,

Billy Warlock Billy Warlock (born William Alan Leming; March 26, 1961) is an American actor known for playing Eddie Kramer, a lifeguard on the first two seasons of ''Baywatch'' and in the reunion movie in 2003, as well as for numerous daytime roles, most not ...

, Erika Eleniak,

David Charvet David Franck Charvet (; born 15 May 1972) is a French singer, actor, model, and television personality. Early life Charvet was born and raised in Lyon, France, the son of Christiane Charvet Haddad and businessman Paul Guez, founder of the Sasson ...

Yasmine Bleeth Yasmine Amanda Bleeth (born June 14, 1968) is an American actress and model. Her television roles include Caroline Holden on ''Baywatch'', Ryan Fenelli on ''Ryan's Hope'', and LeeAnn Demerest on ''One Life to Live''. Early life and career Blee ...

, and Nicole Eggert. The show was cancelled after its first season on NBC, but survived through syndication and later became the most-watched television series in the world, with a weekly audience of over 1.1 billion viewers despite consistently negative critical reviews, earning it a reputation as a pop cultural phenomenon and frequent source of allusion and parody. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999. From 1999 to 2001, with a setting change and large cast overhaul, it was known as ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. It spawned a spin-off series, '' Baywatch Nights'', which aired for two seasons from 1995 to 1997, and a 2017 feature film adaptation.

Overview

''Baywatch'' revolves around the work of a team of lifeguards and their

interpersonal relationship The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

s, with plots usually centering on dangers related to the beach and other activities pertinent to the California (later Hawaii) beach lifestyle. Saving people from drowning is one of the most typical situations used in the shows, but a range of other topics, such as

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

attacks and serial killers, serve as plot conflicts on the show.

Episodes

Cast

''Baywatch'' is noted for its large

with various members "rotating" in-and-out of the show, similarly to many long-running

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s. By the end of the 11 season run, not a single member of the original cast was still in the cast. David Hasselhoff appeared in the most episodes (totalling 206 including the pilot), followed by Jeremy Jackson (117), Michael Newman (109), and Pamela Anderson (77). Following the ''Hawaii'' retool, many of the series' longtime cast members left the show. The only remaining cast members were David Hasselhoff, Brooke Burns, Michael Bergin, and Michael Newman. Following the 10th season, Hasselhoff and Newman both left the series, leaving Bergin and Burns the only remnants of the show's original "L.A. era".

''Baywatch'' (1989–1999)

Mitch Buchannon Mitch Buchannon is a fictional character from the television series ''Baywatch''. He was played by David Hasselhoff in every season of ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch Nights'' plus in the first season of ''Baywatch Hawaii''. He also appeared in three ...

* Parker Stevenson as Craig Pomeroy *

Shawn Weatherly Shawn Nichols Weatherly is an American actress and beauty queen who won the titles of Miss USA and Miss Universe in 1980. She went on to star as Cadet Karen Adams in the film '' Police Academy 3: Back in Training'' (1986), and as Jill Riley in th ...

as Jill Riley *

as Eddie Kramer * Erika Eleniak as Shauni McClain * Peter Phelps as Trevor Cole *

Brandon Call Brandon Spencer Lee Call (born November 17, 1976) is an American former television and film actor as a child and adolescent. He played Hobie Buchannon in the first year of ''Baywatch'', and J.T. Lambert over a period of seven seasons on the TV ...

Hobie Buchannon This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

Holly Gagnier Holly Gagnier (born December 12, 1958) is an American actress. Early life Gagnier was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were Hugh Gagnier, a cinematographer and Eleanor Gagnier, a stenographer for the United Nations. Eleanor served ...

as Gina Pomeroy *

Monte Markham Monte Markham (born June 21, 1935) is an American actor. He has appeared in films, television series and on Broadway. Early life Markham was born in Manatee County, Florida, the son of Millie Content (née Willbur) and Jesse Edward Markham Sr., ...

Don Thorpe This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

John Allen Nelson John Allen Nelson is an American actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles on television as Warren Lockridge on '' Santa Barbara'', John D. Cort on ''Baywatch'', Walt Cummings in '' 24'' and Silas Bunch in ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend''. H ...

as John D. Cort * Gregory Alan Williams as

Garner Ellerbee This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

* Jeremy Jackson as

Tom McTigue Thomas McTigue (born 1959) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Harvey Miller on the 1990s television series ''Baywatch''. He made guest appearances on numerous television programs: ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' in 1991 as Ja ...

as Harvey Miller * Richard Jaeckel as Ben Edwards * Nicole Eggert as

Summer Quinn This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

Matt Brody This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

C. J. Parker Casey Jean "C.J." Parker is a fictional character from the television series ''Baywatch''. Portrayed by Pamela Anderson, she was one of the most popular and longest serving characters who appeared in five seasons of the series. Kelly Rohrbach pl ...

Kelly Slater Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time. Slater is also ...

Jimmy Slade This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ;Mitch Buchannon, Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at M ...

* Alexandra Paul as

Stephanie Holden This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

as Caroline Holden * Jaason Simmons as

Logan Fowler This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ;Mitch Buchannon, Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at M ...

* David Chokachi as

Cody Madison This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ;Mitch Buchannon, Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at M ...

* Gena Lee Nolin as

Neely Capshaw This is a list of the characters in the TV series '' Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', s ...

* Donna D'Errico as

Donna Marco This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

* José Solano as

Manny Gutierrez This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

* Traci Bingham as

Jordan Tate This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

* Nancy Valen as

Samantha Thomas This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

* Michael Newman as himself (real lifeguard) * Carmen Electra as

Lani McKenzie This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

* Kelly Packard as

April Giminski This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

* Michael Bergin as J. D. Darius *

Angelica Bridges Angelica Bridges (born November 20, 1970) is an American actress, model, and singer. She was given a pictorial spread in ''Playboy'' magazine's November 2001 issue and featured as the issue's cover model. In 2017, she competed on the first seaso ...

as Taylor Walsh * Marliece Andrada as Skylar Bergman *

Mitzi Kapture Mitzi Kapture (born Mitzi Gaynor Donahue; May 2, 1962) is an American actress, known for her role as Sgt. Rita Lee Lance in the CBS/USA Network crime drama series ''Silk Stalkings'' from 1991 to 1995. Life and career Kapture was born in Yorba Li ...

Alex Ryker This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

Brooke Burns Brooke Elizabeth Burns (born March 16, 1978) is an American fashion model, game show host, actress, and television personality. Burns began her television career in 1995, portraying the supporting character Out of the Blue (1996 TV series), Pe ...

as Jessie Owens

''Baywatch Hawaii'' (1999–2001)

as Jessie Owens * Michael Bergin as J. D. Darius * Brandy Ledford as Dawn Masterton * Michael Newman as himself * Simmone Mackinnon as

Allie Reese This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

* Jason Momoa as

Jason Ioane This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ;Mitch Buchannon, Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at M ...

Stacy Kamano Stacy Lee Kamano (born September 17, 1974) is an American television actress known for her role as Kekoa Tanaka on ''Baywatch''. Career Kamano was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the age of 11, she won the title "Miss Tropical Pre-Teen Ha ...

Kekoa Tanaka This is a list of the characters in the TV series ''Baywatch'' and ''Baywatch: Hawaii''. Cast timeline ;Cast notes ''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999) ; Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon (David Hasselhoff, ''Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier'', se ...

* Jason Brooks as Sean Monroe * Brande Roderick as Leigh Dyer * Charlie Brumbly as Zach McEwan *

Krista Allen Krista Allen (born April 5, 1971) is an American actress, model and Stand-up comedy, stand-up comic. She is best known for her work in the television series ''Days of Our Lives'', ''Baywatch Hawaii'', and the Erotic art, erotic TV series ''Emman ...

as Jenna Avid

History

Development and production

The idea of ''Baywatch'' came about when Gregory Bonann, the creator of the show, was on duty as a lifeguard and saved two children of an MTM studio employee named Stu Erwin. Gregory originally called the show Aquatic Corps for Emergency Service (ACES), but later changed it to "Baywatch", the name of rescue boats that patrolled Santa Monica Bay. The ''Baywatch'' logo was created by Bonann's lifeguard friend John Johnson. Baywatch debuted on NBC in 1989, but was cancelled after only one season, when it placed 73rd out of 103 shows in the seasonal ratings, and also because the production studio, GTG (a joint venture of television station owner

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Tegna, and Grant Tinker, which was established only to produce the newsmagazine based on Gannett's newspaper ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''), went out of business. Due to high production costs, GTG was unable to finance the series any further. Feeling the series still had potential, David Hasselhoff, one of the principal actors, along with creators and executive producers Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, revived it for the first-run syndication market in 1991. Hasselhoff was given the title of executive producer for his work on bringing the show back. The series was hugely successful, especially internationally. The show led to a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

, '' Baywatch Nights'', and three direct-to-video films: '' Baywatch the Movie: Forbidden Paradise'', '' Baywatch: White Thunder at Glacier Bay'', and '' Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding''. The audience was 65 percent female, with its number one audience being women aged 18 to 34. Speaking in 2001, Schwartz explained that, after doing focus groups on ''Baywatch'' for about five years, they learned that the show appealed to this demographic because "most of tslead characters were strong, independent women who were heroic, who were saving lives, who were equal to men". In 2018, FremantleMedia International, working with Warner Bros and Illuminate, "remastered" ''Baywatch'' from its original

35 mm film 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on f ...

HDTV High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...

, and redistributed the series to broadcasters.

Filming

Will Rogers State Beach served as the predominant beach location for ''Baywatch'', although some scenes were filmed at

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, and in Malibu, California.

Theme song

The original NBC theme was "Save Me", performed by Peter Cetera, with

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

on guitar and Richard Sterban, bass singer for

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

, as one of the background vocalists. From the second season onwards after syndication the theme "

I'm Always Here "I'm Always Here" (also known as "I'll Be Ready") is a song by Jimi Jamison and it is most recognized as the theme of the popular 1990s TV series ''Baywatch'', used for seasons 2 through 10. Jamison is credited as the lyricist on this song along ...

" by Jimi Jamison was used to save costs on royalties and is the most popular theme for the series.

also recorded a duet with Laura Branigan which was hugely successful for being broadcast as the closing track of the ''Baywatch'' TV series. The single ''I Believe'' was originally released on CD album in 1994.

''Baywatch: Hawaii''

In 1999, with production costs rising in Los Angeles, and the syndication market shrinking, the producers sought to move the production elsewhere. They filmed a pilot and announced plans to title the show ''Baywatch: Down Under''. However, strong local opposition from residents of

Avalon Beach, New South Wales Avalon Beach is a northern beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 37 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, in the Northern Be ...

eventually led to

Pittwater Council Pittwater Council was a local government area on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It covered a region adjacent to the Tasman Sea about north of the Sydney central business district. The area is named ...

, the local government area of which Avalon was part of, to permanently ban future production. As an alternative to Australia,

offered the producers large financial incentives to move the show to the islands, instead, and in season 10, ''Baywatch: Hawaii'' was launched. ''Baywatch'' filmed for two seasons in Hawaii, from 1999 until 2001.

April Masini April Masini is an American advice columnist also known for her political advocacy for the television and film industry in Hawaii. Career April Masini is an advice columnist and commentator who offers dating and relationship advice to people of ...

, a newspaper advice columnist, pitched the move to executive producer Gregory J. Bonann. The agreement mandated that addition of the subtitle, to ''Baywatch: Hawaii'', as well as the hiring local production crew, filming on-location for at least two years, and producing 44 episodes, each at a cost of about US$870,000 (climbing up to $1.1 million), 60% of which was to be spent in Hawaii. The series was cancelled due to poor ratings.

Home media

* Australia: On May 1, 2013, Shock Entertainment released seasons 1–9 on DVD. They also released a complete series set on November 6, 2013, which features all nine seasons of ''Baywatch'', both seasons of ''Baywatch Hawaii'' and both seasons of '' Baywatch Nights''. * France: The reunion film '' Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding'' was translated to French language as ''Alerte à Malibu: Mariage à Hawaï'' and has been released. * Finland: Seasons 1–3 have been released by Future Film. * Germany: Seasons 1–11 have been released. These releases are presented exactly as they originally aired, albeit with German language credits (these are also available in the U.K. from Amazon as imports). The reunion film ''Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding'' was translated to German language as ''Baywatch: Hochzeit auf Hawaii'' and has been released. * Italy: Seasons 1–2 have been released by Koch Media, season 5–6 have been released by

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

. * Netherlands: Season 3 has been released. * Sweden: Seasons 1–3 have been released. * United Kingdom: Seasons 1–6 have been released by Network. In 2017, to coincide with the release of the feature film adaptation, Network released a DVD entitled ''Best of Baywatch'' which includes the two-part episodes "Nightmare Bay" and "River of No Return". * United States: In June 1999, a single disc DVD was released featuring two 2-part episodes from the show's original run ("Nightmare Bay" parts 1 and 2 from season 2, and "River of No Return" parts 1 and 2 from season 3). These episodes are absent from the U.S. box sets of their respective seasons mentioned below. First Look Studios released the first three seasons on DVD in 2006/2007. Although the box sets are labeled "Season 1", "Season 2", etc., the sets actually feature episodes of the ''following'' season (i.e., the "Season 1" box set contains the episodes of the literal ''second'' season (1991–1992) of the show). The second and third sets were released on October 31, 2006. Each set features a disc with season 1 (NBC) episodes on it. These releases also do not contain any of the original music as it appeared when the episodes aired. They have been removed, including the opening title themes, due to copyright agreements. However, these releases have been discontinued and are now out of print. In August 2018, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'' reported that Fremantle (company), Fremantle was "remastering" the series in high definition. However, Baywatch had been edited on tape, not film. This meant that the existing cuts of the episodes were impossible to release in high definition, and the "remasters" are in fact re-creations, and not always shot-for-shot accurate. The "remastered" episodes also changed the aspect ratio to 16:9 widescreen, resulting in some shots having a wider field of view but other shots having a narrower one. The "remastered" series was released on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu in HD and Pluto TV in 2019. Due to expired licenses for much of the show's musical soundtrack, many of the show's episodes are either cut to remove songs, or re-scored and re-edited with new "soundalike" tracks. Visual Entertainment Incorporated released seasons 1–9 on DVD for the first time in the United States on May 3, 2021, with a Blu-ray release on May 21.

In popular culture

The show is the subject of a running gag on ''Friends'', where Chandler Bing, Chandler and Joey Tribbiani, Joey would watch ''Baywatch'' together religiously, including over the phone when Joey was living in another apartment. Among other related jokes, Chandler names their pet chicken after

(although the bird later turns out to be male) due to a long-standing crush on the actress. This was largely a joke about Chandler's actor, Matthew Perry, who briefly dated Bleeth in 1995. Many of the actors from the series have become closely associated with their roles in the series.

has often referenced or satirized his role as Mitch Buchannon, notably in ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,'' in which he appears in lifeguard attire similar to Mitch, runs across a beach in slow-motion, and displays superhuman swimming abilities similar to Mitch's own feats of athleticism. ''Babewatch'' is a satirical term sometimes used in connection with the series, which has been used by the humor magazine ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' and by television commentators. The term was also used for a series of pornographic films released between 1994 and 1999 in list of feature film series with 11 to 20 entries. ''Baywatch'' is prominently featured in the 2006 mockumentary film ''Borat'' in which the character Borat Sagdiyev (played by Sacha Baron Cohen), a Kazakh journalist with a misconstrued understanding of American customs and pop culture, becomes obsessed with

after seeing her in an episode of the series (which he believes to be a documentary) and travels to the United States in a failed attempt to court her and later attempts to abduct her. In a deleted scene, Borat creates a pilot episode of a Kazakh remake of ''Baywatch'' entitled ''Sexydrownwatch'', which features "I'm Always Here" and Alexandra Paul reprising her role as Stephanie. The red swimsuits that the actresses wore in the series have become iconic. The suits were custom fitted for each actress; Alexandra Paul wore a suit with a higher neckline while shorter cast members wore suits with higher cut legs to give the illusion of height.

''Baywatch'' running

"Baywatch running" refers to the show's numerous scenes, particularly in the opening credits, of its cast members running across the beach in slow motion, usually wearing distinctive red lifeguard gear. The trope is closely associated with the show and often referenced directly in parodies.

Related media

Film adaptation

The film adaptation is a comedy, written and directed by Jeremy Garelick. Garelick's previous successes include the rewrite of ''The Hangover''. In September 2012, it was announced that ''Reno 911!'' co-creator and star Robert Ben Garant would direct the film version of ''Baywatch'' for Paramount Pictures. In October 2014, it was announced that Paramount was moving forward with its big-screen adaptation of ''Baywatch'' and has loosely attached Dwayne Johnson to the project. The studio also hired Justin Malen to rewrite and attached the comedy writing team of Sean Anders and John Morris to direct. In July 2015, it was announced Seth Gordon would direct with Damian Shannon and Mark Swift having written the latest script with Dwayne Johnson still attached to star. On August 10, 2015, it was announced that Zac Efron had been cast in the film. Johnson also announced that the film will be Motion Picture Association of America film rating system, R-Rated. The report stated, "The story centers on a by-the-book and very serious lifeguard (Johnson) who is forced to team up with a young rule-flouting hothead (Efron) in order to save their beach from environmental destruction at the hands of an oil tycoon." That same month, reports were saying that Kelly Brook was in contention to star in the film as C.J. Parker, with Kate Upton and Charlotte McKinney also on the shortlist, but Brook denied the rumor the following day on Instagram. Brook later confirmed that she had read the script but was still uncertain if she would appear. On November 9, 2015, it was reported that several actresses, including Alexandra Daddario, Nina Dobrev, Ashley Benson, Alexandra Shipp, Shelley Hennig, Bianca Santos, and Denyse Tontz, were in the running for the female lead, with the possibility that some of them could join the film in different roles and other unnamed actresses could be in the running as well. On November 18, 2015, Johnson confirmed Daddario (who previously worked with Johnson on ''San Andreas (film), San Andreas'') for the role of Summer, originally played by Eggert in the TV series, and revealed the casting of C.J. and other roles would soon be announced. On January 4, 2016, Johnson announced that actress and model Kelly Rohrbach was cast as C.J. for the film. On January 11, 2016, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' reported that Priyanka Chopra was in talks to appear in the film in a villainous role. On February 16, 2016, Chopra and Johnson released a video to confirm her participation in the above-mentioned role. On January 20, 2016, a release date of May 19, 2017, was announced and Ilfenesh Hadera joined the cast as Stef, the love interest of Johnson's character. On January 27, 2016, ''Variety'' reported that Jon Bass was cast as Ronnie, described as funny, awkward and a skilled disco dancer who falls in love with C.J. at the beach. The film was released in the United States on May 25, 2017, by Paramount Pictures, and grossed $177.4 million worldwide.

Potential reboot series

As of August 2018, ''Deadline Hollywood'' reported that Fremantle (company), FremantleMedia International were eyeing a reboot of the franchise. On April 14, 2023, it was announced that Fremantle are developing a reboot of the series and has held early talks with a number of broadcasters and streamers. On March 4, 2024, it was announced that Fremantle and Fox Entertainment will team up for the reboot series for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox with Lara Olsen serving as the writer and showrunner.

''After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun''

In 2019, it was announced that ''Baywatch'' was being revived as documentary feature film. As they explained on the ''Factual America'' podcast, filmmaker Matthew Felker lined up some of the show's top-billed castmembers to take a walk down memory lane for ''Baywatch: The Documentary'' and talk about their time on the show and the hours they spent in skimpy red suits. It was announced that the documentary now titled ''After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun'' as a ABC News Studios program will air on Hulu on August 28, 2024.

References

External links

Official Classic website

Baywatch
– Official Current website
Baywatch
on YouTube
Baywatch
on Facebook * * (film adaptation) {{Authority control Baywatch, 1980s American drama television series 1989 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings 1990s American drama television series 2000s American drama television series 2001 American television series endings American action television series American television soap operas American primetime television soap operas American English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Lifesaving in the United States Surf lifesaving American action adventure television series Television series by Fremantle (company) American television series revived after cancellation Television shows set in Hawaii Television shows set on beaches Television shows set in Los Angeles Television shows set in Los Angeles County, California Television shows adapted into films Television shows filmed in Hawaii Works about lifeguards NBC television dramas