Twenty-five years after the original series left the beach, Baywatch is back. Fox’s reimagined revival brings the red swimsuits, the slow-motion runs and the life-or-death rescues to a new generation, with Stephen Amell leading the team as a grown-up Hobie Buchannon, son of David Hasselhoff’s legendary Mitch. It arrives in the US in late January 2027, and UK viewers will be able to watch it on Sky and NOW that same month.
UK availability: exclusively on Sky and streaming service NOW in the UK and Ireland from January 2027. The exact UK launch date has not yet been confirmed.
Watch the Official Trailer
Fox released the full three-minute trailer on 13 October 2026. It opens with Amell leading a rescue after a plane collides with a parasail, and it doesn’t let up from there: big stunts, beach rivalries, romance and plenty of the franchise’s trademark slow motion.
When and Where Can You Watch Baywatch?
In the US, Baywatch premieres on Fox in January 2027. Fox’s head of scheduling, Dan Harrison, has said it will launch in “late” January, though no exact date or time slot has been announced. Episodes will stream the next day on Hulu. The Hollywood Reporter has suggested Fox could launch it after one of its big NFL play-off broadcasts at the end of January, but Fox hasn’t confirmed that, so treat it as informed speculation for now.
For British viewers, the news is good. In May 2026 Sky struck a deal with Fremantle, which handles international sales, to bring the series exclusively to Sky and NOW in the UK and Ireland. Sky now says the show will arrive in January 2027. It has not named a day yet, so it’s unclear whether the UK will get it the same week as America or a little later.
The series was originally announced for the 2026–27 season. In May 2026 Fox confirmed it would hold the show back from the autumn schedule and launch it in midseason instead. Fox president Michael Thorn pointed to the network’s history of midseason hits, from 24 and Empire to 9-1-1, and called Baywatch “a huge, huge priority for us”.
What Is the New Baywatch About?
This isn’t a straight remake. It’s a continuation of the original series. Hobie Buchannon, the wild child from the 1989 show, is now all grown up and serving as a Baywatch Captain, following in his father Mitch’s footsteps. His world is turned upside down when Charlie Vale, the daughter he never knew he had, turns up on his doorstep. She’s eager to carry on the Buchannon family legacy and become a Baywatch lifeguard alongside her dad.
That father-daughter story is the emotional centre of the show, but Fox promises everything fans expect from the brand: adrenaline-fuelled rescues, tangled relationships, complicated chemistry and beachside heroics, all with a renewed mission to protect Southern California’s coastline. One storyline already revealed involves the annual “Beach Games”, where reigning champions Baywatch take on the Coast Guard.
Meet the New Baywatch Cast
Stephen Amell, best known as Oliver Queen in Arrow, leads the series as Hobie Buchannon. When he was cast, showrunner Matt Nix said Amell “brought exactly what this new chapter of Baywatch demands: heart, intensity, and that undeniable hero energy”.
The confirmed series regulars are:
- Stephen Amell as Hobie Buchannon, Baywatch Captain and son of Mitch
- Jessica Belkin as Charlie Vale, Hobie’s daughter
- Hassie Harrison (Yellowstone) as Nat, a lifeguard, former foster child and Olympic athlete
- Shay Mitchell (Pretty Little Liars) as Trina
- Thaddeus LaGrone as Brad, a former Marine turned lifeguard
- Noah Beck as Luke
- Brooks Nader as Selene
In recurring roles, gymnast and social media star Livvy Dunne makes her acting debut as junior lifeguard Grace. Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica, Dances with Wolves) plays Gayle, and John Beckwith plays Julian, a PhD student on an ocean research team brought in to help Baywatch, who becomes a love interest for Charlie. Blair Redford, Nadia Gray (as Lisa), Ashley Moore, Luke Eisner, Kylar Miranda and Charlie McElveen are also in the recurring cast, and Megan Thee Stallion appears as herself in the trailer.
Original Baywatch Stars Return
Because the new show continues the original story, a handful of familiar faces are back on the sand:
- David Chokachi returns in a recurring role as Cody Madison, who now runs the Shoreline bar and grill and still lends a hand as a lifeguard.
- Erika Eleniak, who starred in the first two seasons, guest stars as Shauni McClain, now a Santa Monica city councilwoman who returns to the beach to help Hobie open the Beach Games.
- Michael Bergin guest stars as Jack “J.D.” Darius, the role he played from seasons eight to eleven and in the 2003 TV film Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.
- Kelly Packard guest stars as April Giminski, the lifeguard she played as a regular in seasons eight and nine.
What about the biggest names? David Hasselhoff has not been confirmed to appear, although the new trailer includes a nod to Mitch Buchannon that has fans hoping for a cameo. Pamela Anderson told Deadline in July 2026 that she has “no plans” to return, explaining that she wants “to make really bold choices” in her career after The Last Showgirl.
Who Is Making It?
Fox Entertainment and Fremantle are co-producing Baywatch. Matt Nix, creator of Burn Notice and showrunner of Marvel’s The Gifted, is showrunner and executive producer. McG, the director of the Charlie’s Angels films and Terminator Salvation, directed the series premiere and is an executive producer.
The executive producers also include three of the original show’s creative team: Michael Berk, Greg Bonann and Doug Schwartz, who co-created Baywatch in 1989. They’re joined by Dante Di Loreto and Mike Horowitz. FOX Entertainment Global holds US distribution rights, while Fremantle sells the show to the rest of the world.
Production and Filming
Fox picked up Baywatch in September 2025 with a 12-episode order. In early 2026 the production held an open casting call to find new talent, though no roles from that call have been announced.
Crucially for the look of the show, it is filming where it belongs. A $21.1 million tax credit from the California Film Commission brought the production to Los Angeles, where it shot on the city’s beaches and soundstages from spring into July 2026. Speaking at the MIPCOM television market in Cannes this month, Amell, Beck and Nix said the show “reminds the broader Hollywood community that there are enormous advantages to shooting in Los Angeles”.
From 1989 to the 2017 Film
Few shows have a legacy like Baywatch. The original series debuted in 1989 and ran for eleven seasons until 2001. According to Fox, it became the most-watched show in the world, airing in more than 200 countries and reaching more than a billion viewers a week at its peak in 1996. It made global stars of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson, featured Carmen Electra and a young Jason Momoa, and helped define beach culture for a generation.
The franchise came back in 2017 as a big-screen action comedy, with Dwayne Johnson as Mitch Buchannon and Zac Efron as a cocky new recruit, plus cameos from Hasselhoff and Anderson. That film played the concept for laughs. The new series looks closer in spirit to the original, combining sincere family drama and heroics with a wink at its own famous excesses.
Movieversalfilm Verdict: Should You Be Excited?
On paper, this revival has a lot going for it. Amell has already led a long-running action series, Matt Nix knows how to balance stunts with character, and bringing back Berk, Bonann and Schwartz keeps the show tied to its roots. Shooting on real Los Angeles beaches rather than a stand-in location should also give it the sun-bleached authenticity that made the original so watchable.
The big question is tone. Can a 2027 Baywatch take its rescues and family drama seriously while still embracing the glossy, slow-motion fun? The trailer suggests Fox wants both. We’ll find out in January, and we’ll bring you the UK launch date the moment Sky confirms it. You can also catch up on recent trailer news in our Screen Wrap for 14 October.
Baywatch at a Glance
- US network: Fox, streaming next day on Hulu
- US premiere: late January 2027 (exact date to be confirmed)
- UK and Ireland: Sky and NOW, January 2027 (exact date to be confirmed)
- Episodes: 12 ordered
- Showrunner: Matt Nix
- Premiere director: McG
- Studios: Fox Entertainment and Fremantle