''Malibu, CA'' is an American

teen sitcom A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people (Preadolescence, tweens, Adolescence, teenagers and, to a lesser extent, Young adult, young adults). In general, these types of prog ...

produced by

Peter Engel Peter Engel (June 30, 1936 – March 4, 2025) was an American television producer who is best known for his teen sitcoms that appeared on TNBC, a former Saturday morning block on NBC which featured all teenage-oriented programs for educational ...

that aired from October 11, 1998, to May 20, 2000, in syndication. Co-created by Engel and Carl Kurlander, the show centred on the lives of twin brothers Scott (Trevor Merszei) and Jason Collins (Jason Hayes), who move to

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

, from New York City to live with their father, Peter (

Edward Blatchford Edward Blatchford (born September 1, 1955) is an American actor best known for his role as Peter Collins from 1998 to 2000 in the sitcom '' Malibu, CA'', produced by Peter Engel. He also worked with Engel on three other television series, guest ...

). Guest appearances on the show included

Dennis Haskins Dennis Haskins (born November 18, 1950) is an American actor known for his role as Principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'', which ran from 1989 to 1993 on NBC. He then went on to star in '' Saved by the Bell: The New ...

(who had previously worked with Engel for several years on ''Saved by the Bell''),

Scott Whyte Scott Whyte is an American actor, best known for his role as Chris Anderson on '' City Guys''. He has also appeared in television series such as ''That '70s Show'' and ''Just Shoot Me!'' and the films '' D2: The Mighty Ducks'' and its sequel, '' ...

and Marissa Dyan from ''

City Guys ''City Guys'' is an American television sitcom that aired for five seasons on NBC from September 6, 1997 to December 15, 2001. The series aired as part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC. Premise ''City Guys'' centered on two teena ...

'', Daniella Deutscher and

Dick Butkus Richard Marvin Butkus (December 9, 1942 – October 5, 2023) was an American professional football linebacker, sports commentator, and actor. He played football for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1965 to 1973. He w ...

from '' Hang Time'', Josh Holland and

Kristen Miller Kristen Miller (born August 20, 1976) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Ashley Elliot on the sitcom ''USA High'' (1997–1999) and Deedra "D.D." Cummings on the action-adventure series ''She Spies'' (2002–2004). Mille ...

from ''

USA High ''USA High'' is an American teen sitcom that ran on USA from August 4, 1997 to June 10, 1999, ending after 95 episodes. The series revolves around six friends enrolled at the American Academy boarding school in Paris, France. Background Informa ...

'', and model

Victoria Silvstedt Karin Victoria Silvstedt (born 19 September 1974)''Expressen'', 29 October 2004. is a Swedish actress, singer, Playboy Playmate, television host, and beauty pageant titleholder. She participated in Miss World 1993, then branching into modelling ...

. The series was one of two post–'' Saved by the Bell: The College Years'' programs executively produced by Peter Engel that did not air on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

TNBC TNBC (or Teen NBC) was an American teen-oriented television programming block that aired on NBC from September 12, 1992 to September 28, 2002, due to its replacement with the children's-oriented '' Discovery Kids on NBC'' educational lineup. T ...

lineup, ''USA High'' being the other. Prior to the 2012 premiere of '' The First Family'', ''Malibu, CA'' was the last situation comedy to be broadcast in the United States for the first-run syndication market.

Characters

* Scott Collins (Trevor Merszei) – Scott moves to Malibu from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with his twin brother Jason after their mother takes a job in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, forcing them to live with their father. Scott is a competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and dreams of being a sports broadcaster. Just like his twin brother, he is also girl hungry. In the first season, Scott and Jason often

break the fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th centu ...

to address the audience. * Jason Collins (Jason Hayes) – Jason is Scott's twin brother who moves out to Malibu with him from New York City. Jason's main interest is girls, and he tries to get a date whenever possible, even if it means hurting other people along the way. He harbors dreams of being a world-famous guitarist and songwriter. * Peter Collins (

) – Scott and Jason's father and the owner of ''The Lighthouse'', a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

in Malibu. He is more laid-back than the boys' mother and is always there for them, but will not tolerate misbehavior. * Murray Updyke (Brandon Brooks) – The unacknowledged son of a wealthy

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

baron, Murray is an off-beat surfer who runs ''The Surf Shack'', a beachfront establishment where surfers can rent boards and other paraphernalia that Peter later buys. Though a bit of an idiot savant. Murray is a true friend. * Jennifer "Stads" Stadler (Wendi Kenya; Season 1, and select episodes of Season 2) – Stads is a blonde, athletic,

tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...

ish

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 Cardiopulmonary ...

at the beach. She is insulted when people think she is a

bimbo ''Bimbo'' is slang for a conventionally attractive, sexualized naive woman. The term was originally used in the United States as early as 1919 for an unintelligent or brutish man. As of the early 21st century, the "stereotypical bimbo" appea ...

and is hot-tempered when dealing with people who call her one. Initially smitten with Scott, she ends up with Jason. Their relationship is fraught with constant fighting because Stads usually beats Jason at everything, and they eventually break up after Jason kisses Stads' best friend Samantha during a storm. They reconcile, but Stads takes a job in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and breaks up with Jason again after she learns he is seeing someone else. * Samantha "Sam" Chapman (Gina Marie May; Season 1 only) – An attractive brunette who is Stads' best friend and the next-door neighbor of Scott, Jason, and Peter. Scott and Jason initially vie for her affections, but Scott wins out and Jason begins a relationship with Stads. When Scott's ex-girlfriend Megan comes to town, he has an affair with her, causing Samantha to break up with him. Samantha is an

environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

who protests drilling for oil at the beach and the construction of condominia which threaten the existence of ''The Surf Shack'', run by her childhood friend Murray. She also briefly tries her hand at

modeling A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French language, French and Italian language, Italian ult ...

and almost leaves for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with a photographer of dubious moral character before Scott convinces her to change her mind. Samantha later moves back to the East Coast to attend college. * Traycee Banks ( Priscilla Lee Taylor; recurring character in Season 1, promoted to main cast in Season 2) – A gorgeous blonde who is a stereotypical

. Traycee owns an enormous amount of swimwear, loves the colour pink, and is an actress. She initially lives in her own place but moves into an apartment with Lisa, which she names ''Casa de Fun Fun''. She gets a job working as Dr. Sheila Lowenstein on the

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

''Malibu Hospital'', but after the show is cancelled she decides to go to

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

. Like Murray, Traycee is not very bright and sometimes annoying, but she is a good friend. Her beauty often attracts many men to her, which her friends sometimes use to their advantage. * Lisa Jones (Marquita Terry; Season 2 only) – Lisa is a medical student who later becomes a doctor at a hospital. She has a tendency to be bossy and short-tempered, especially around her roommate Traycee, and has a habit of taking endlessly when she is nervous. She once forces Traycee to leave the apartment after an argument, but after her crazy-

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

-fan new roommate scares her, she patches things up with Traycee and moves back in with her, with help from her friends. She eventually forms a relationship with Scott. * Alexandra "Alex" Kaufman (Suzanne Davis; Season 2 only) – A

who comes to town after Stads' departure. Alex loves Malibu and hanging out with her friends. She becomes fond of Murray and even tries her hand at a singing career.

Episodes

Season 1 (1998–1999)

Season 2 (1999–2000)

Stations

The series was cleared 88% of the country, and was scheduled to air in 150 markets.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0176376, Malibu, CA 1998 American television series debuts 2000 American television series endings 1990s American teen sitcoms 2000s American teen sitcoms American English-language television shows American television series about teenagers First-run syndicated sitcoms Television shows set in Malibu, California Television series about brothers Television series about single parent families Television series about twins Television series by Universal Television Television series by Tribune Entertainment