Everything that’s old is new again, even when we’re talking about iconic red swimsuits from the ‘90s. That’s right, Baywatch is slo-mo running its way back into the pop culture zeitgeist in the form of a TV reboot, and thankfully not as a sequel to the 2017 Baywatch movie with The Rock and Alexandra Daddario. The project has been in development for a while now, and the efforts have clearly been worthy, as Fox announced a straight-to-series order for the beach-set reboot, albeit with a big change behind the scenes.
The latest Baywatch project originated many years ago with production company Fremantle, but took a big step forward in early 2024 when Fox gave it a script commitment. At the time, the reimagining was being spearheaded by Lara Olsen, a TV writer known for such shows as Private Practice, Reba, 90210 and more. At the time, she was noted as being the showrunner and executive producer, but it doesn’t appear as if she’s still attached after some behind-the-scenes changes were made.
Baywatch's TV Reboot Now Has A New Showrunner
Taking over for Olsen will be Matt Nix, whose most celebrated creation to date is arguably USA's long-running crime dramedy Burn Notice, with Jeffrey Donovan and Bruce Campbell. Nix also created several other shows that didn't fare nearly as well, such as USA's Complications and the Fox dramas APB and The Good Guys, not to mention Disney+'s Turner and Hooch and CBS' True Lies. Only his Marvel-adjacent series The Gifted went behond a single season.
Nix will serve as both showrunner and EP alongside the co-creators of the O.G. series, Michael Berk, Greg Bonann and Doug Schwartz, with Dante Di Lorteo also on board.
It sounds like Bonann might be offering his talents in a larger capacity behind the scenes, as Fox's President Michael Thorn shared the following statement to hype the news:
In its first run, Baywatch defined an entire era of beach life and elevated lifeguards to an iconic status. Now, with our partners at Fremantle, this television juggernaut is set for a modern-day comeback. Together, Fox and Fremantle, along with Matt Nix and original co-creator Greg Bonann, will bring the California dream to a whole new generation of fans with fresh stories, rising stars and all the spectacle that make the Baywatch franchise a global sensation.
Speaking to his poing about fresh stories and rising stars, no actual storylines or casting announcements have been made just yet, but now that the show is 100% happening, those updates will be on the horizon no doubt.
Baywatch's Episode Count And Premiere Window
At the time of this writing, Baywatch is being set up for a 12-episode first season, although this sounds like the kind of deal where the network could attach another nine or ten episodes to it for a full season.
As well, Fox is aiming to bring Baywatch back to viewers beyond the 2025 TV schedule, and is aiming for the 2026-2027 TV cycle, meaning it'll likely be set up with a premiere in Fall 2026. Unless of course the 12-ep order is specifically geared for a midseason arrival.
Fox's previous lifeguard-centric series Rescue: HI-Surf was being developed at the same time Lara Olsen was working on that iteration of Baywatch. The former series was canceled after a single season, making more room for such characters to take over primetime.
Baywatch already made waves earlier in 2025 when the global sensation hit streaming for the first time, following a slew of rights issues and other legal formalities that had to be figured out first. That all came in the wake of the 2024 docuseries After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun, which reflected on the O.G. series' wildly successful run.
Stay tuned for more details about Baywatch's return to television, and stay safe in the water.
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