I didn’t grow up with Baywatch. My first real introduction was David Hasselhoff’s cameo in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and, honestly, that was enough. But come March, Fox’s reboot starts production in Los Angeles, and the show’s lifeguard lore is suddenly relevant again.
To kick things off, Fox and Fremantle hosted an open casting call in Marina del Rey. Thousands showed up, chasing a shot at the red one-piece dream. Women leaned hard into the classic swimsuit. Men went for red board shorts, abs on display. There were exceptions — a rhinestone-studded pink suit, a 10-gallon hat that screamed anything but California — but mostly the crowd read the brief.
At Mothers Beach, hopefuls sprinted down the sand, jockeying for front-row visibility in the group shots at the lifeguard tower. It was surreal watching them approach me mid-press pass, eager for a line in print. From there, they moved to the nearby Marriott, twenty audition rooms waiting to determine who gets a face in front of casting. Hotel guests, presumably, learned that lifeguards are the new normal.
The only confirmed names so far: David Chokachi reprising his role, and Stephen Amell stepping in as Hobie Buchannon, Mitch’s son. Amell talked about why LA matters to the show — a nod to local heroes, first responders, and the community hit by last year’s wildfires. “Your production should be here,” he said, clearly invested in the city and its stories.
And no, Amell hasn’t called Hasselhoff for pointers. “Nobody’s handing out David’s number,” he laughed.
Backstage, it’s chaos, nerves, and ambition in equal measure. The slow-motion running might be a joke outside the show, but for these hopefuls, it’s the first step toward something very real.
Last modified: February 23, 2026
