Fox's new Baywatch trailer is out, and fans say even the Rock's movie looked better
The franchise that was once the most-watched show on Earth relaunched its full trailer with a gymnast, a TikToker, an exploding lifeguard tower — and a comparison problem it can't outrun.
Fox dropped the full Baywatch trailer on October 13, ahead of a January 2027 premiere. Three minutes, per Variety: a plane colliding with a parasail, a wildfire rolling toward the beach, an exploding lifeguard tower, a Megan Thee Stallion cameo, the original "I'm Always Here" theme, and the mandated quota of slow-motion running.
It's technically a sequel series, not a reboot. Stephen Amell plays a grown-up Hobie Buchannon — Mitch's wild-child son — now a Baywatch captain whose world flips when Charlie (Jessica Belkin), the daughter he never knew, shows up wanting the family job. McG directed the premiere, Matt Nix (Burn Notice) runs the show, Fremantle co-produces, and season 1 is 12 episodes.
The cast is the controversy
Look at the roster and the discourse explains itself. Alongside Amell and Belkin: Shay Mitchell, Hassie Harrison, Thaddeus LaGrone — and then Noah Beck (TikTok), Livvy Dunne (gymnastics-influencer royalty), and Brooks Nader (Sports Illustrated model). The influencer-heavy casting drew enough flak that Fox News ran a whole piece on Nader firing back at critics, while other fans questioned whether anyone could fill Pamela Anderson's red swimsuit and whether Hollywood needed another reboot at all.
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Even the friendly reactions came with a smirk: one viewer joked that some writer is fighting the urge to hand the former Arrow a "you have failed this beach" line. Dunne herself named the elephant on the sand, telling TV Insider that the biggest difference is there's no original, iconic cast — the legacy names here are David Chokachi recurring as Cody, with Erika Eleniak, Michael Bergin, and Kelly Packard guesting. David Hasselhoff is not on the list.
The measuring stick nobody at Fox wanted
Here's the comparison fans keep reaching for, and it's a brutal one: the 2017 Baywatch movie. That film had Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, a $69 million budget, and it still got torched — 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, Razzie nominations, and The Rock cheerfully roasting his own movie afterward. But it looked like $69 million. A broadcast drama shooting on a network budget invites every frame to be held against that, and against eleven syndicated seasons that once made Baywatch the Guinness-certified most-watched TV show in the world.
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The counterargument is the one the production itself is making. At MIPCOM in Cannes, where Amell and Nader spent the week selling the show to international buyers, Amell, Beck, and Nix pitched it as proof of concept for the industry, telling Deadline that Baywatch shows "there are enormous advantages to shooting in Los Angeles." Which is a lovely message for Hollywood. In January, the only message that counts comes from the ratings.
The 2017 movie was torched by critics and still grossed $178 million. That's the floor this show gets judged against.