Baywatch Season 2 Is Already in the Works Before the Reboot Even Airs

Los Angeles is already preparing to welcome Baywatch back for a second season — before the reboot has even aired a single episode. Speaking to city council members this week, LA’s chief film liaison Steve Kang told lawmakers that the production team behind Fox’s upcoming Baywatch series was so happy with the city’s “concierge service” on the first season that “they will be returning to Los Angeles for a second season next year.”

Fox and producer Fremantle both declined to comment on the remark, and a formal renewal is unlikely to land before the network sees how the debut season performs. But the tone from city hall is unmistakably bullish — and it tells you just how much the network, the studio, and local government are treating this revival as a major priority.

A Reboot Built Like a Blockbuster

The new Baywatch is far from a low-budget nostalgia play. It’s a straight-to-series 12-episode drama co-produced by Fox Entertainment and Fremantle, with Matt Nix — the creator behind Burn Notice — serving as showrunner. Executive producers include McG, franchise creators Michael Berk, Greg Bonann and Doug Schwartz, plus Dante Di Loreto and Mike Horowitz. That’s the kind of lineup normally reserved for a streaming tentpole, not a broadcast midseason pickup.

The production received a $21.1 million (40%) tax credit from the California Film Commission, and the city coordinated across county and regional jurisdictions so the team could film at the historic Venice Lifeguard Operations Station. That real-world backdrop is a big part of why local leaders were determined to win the shoot in the first place — and why they’re already talking openly about round two.

An Adult Hobie Takes the Beach

At the heart of the reboot is Stephen Amell, best known for his years as the hooded vigilante in Arrow and more recently as the title lawyer in Suits LA. Here he plays an adult Hobie Buchannon — the son of original series hero Mitch Buchannon, who was played by David Hasselhoff. Hobie has followed in his father’s footsteps and now serves as the captain of the Baywatch team, guarding the Southern California shoreline and training a fresh crop of rookies.

His carefully managed world is turned upside down when the daughter he never knew he had shows up on his doorstep. Jessica Belkin plays Charlie Vale, a fearless, occasionally reckless young woman who left a complicated home life behind in Galveston with one goal: to earn her place as a Baywatch lifeguard. The father-daughter dynamic — with Hobie doing his best to mentor the child he only just met — gives the action-heavy show a warm emotional spine.

Around them rides a colorful supporting cast. Shay Mitchell is Trina, Hassie Harrison is Nat, a former foster kid and Olympic athlete, and Thaddeus LaGrone plays Brad, a former Marine turned lifeguard. Noah Beck takes the role of Luke, the surfer flirt from a family of firefighters who’s secretly one of the best rescuers on the beach, while Brooks Nader is Selene, the sharp-tongued captain of the rival Zuma Beach lifeguards whose friction with Hobie runs deeper than saving lives.

Old Faces, New Generation

The reboot isn’t shy about honoring its past. David Chokachi returns as fan-favorite Cody Madison, now running the “unofficially official” Baywatch bar-and-grill, The Shoreline, where he serves as mentor to the next generation — though he’ll still jump into rescue operations when the moment calls. Original cast members Michael Bergin (Jack “J.D.” Darius) and Kelly Packard (April Giminski) also reprise their roles, and Mary McDonnell joins as Gayle, Hobie’s mother and Charlie’s grandmother, adding a sharp-witted generational bridge.

There’s also a first-time curiosity value in the cast list: Livvy Dunne, the former Louisiana State University gymnast and one of the most-followed athletes on social media, makes her acting debut as Grace, a highly enthusiastic junior lifeguard. And per the network, the door remains open for additional legacy stars to drop in as cameos. Whether Hasselhoff himself appears remains unconfirmed — but expect the question to be asked for months.

A Franchise With Serious Global Reach

Part of why the industry is watching is the original show’s enormous international footprint. The 1989 series ran for 11 seasons and became one of the most-watched shows on Earth, airing in more than 200 countries and reaching more than a billion viewers at its peak. For years it skewed strangely modern, shedding the typical broadcast limits to become a true global pop-culture constant.

That international appeal is baked into the reboot’s release strategy. Hulu holds exclusive U.S. streaming rights, with new episodes arriving the day after their Fox premiere. Prime Video has picked up streaming rights across a huge swath of international territories — including Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, the Benelux countries, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, Canada, Latin America and India — and will also stream the complete original Baywatch back catalog. Over in the UK and Ireland, Sky handles the series. So the network is betting you can pluck any viewer on the planet and find someone who grew up with red swimsuits and slo-mo beach runs.

It’s the same spirit that keeps turning up in new overhauls of classic action properties. If you enjoy reboots that balance fresh casts with beloved mythology, the 2017 Baywatch movie and the retrospective After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun doc are both worth a revisit while you wait.

What Season 2 Talk Really Means

Renewal chatter this early is partly a function of Los Angeles politics. The city’s brand-new Ad Hoc Committee on Film, Entertainment and Creative Industry held its first meeting this week specifically to streamline permitting, lower fees and lure productions back after a tough stretch for local shoots. A show that plants itself at the Venice Lifeguard Station — an instantly recognizable landmark — is exactly the kind of production local leaders want to keep coming back, so a little optimistic forward-planning is in everyone’s interest.

Still, it’s a meaningful signal. Fox executives reportedly feel good about the series heading into its January debut, and the infrastructure for a second season is evidently already being discussed behind the scenes. In the modern era, where most shows live or die by early renewal decisions, being on the city’s calendar before you’ve even aired is a genuinely strong omen.

When Can You Watch It?

The Baywatch reboot premieres on Fox at midseason in January 2027. The exact date hasn’t been locked down, and neither has the official Season 2 order. For now, the fun is in the anticipation — a franchise that once ruled the world’s beaches is gearing up for a return, and Los Angeles is already clearing the sand.

Are you in for a new generation of Baywatch, or does the reboot have to earn your trust first? Sound off in the comments.