Baywatch

The idea of Baywatch came about when Gregory Bonann, the creator of the show, was on duty as a lifeguard and saved two children of an MTM studio employee named Stu Erwin.[7] Gregory originally called the show Aquatic Corps for Emergency Service (ACES), but later changed it to "Baywatch", the name of rescue boats that patrolled Santa Monica Bay.[7] The Baywatch logo was created by Bonann's lifeguard friend John Johnson.[7]

Baywatch debuted on NBC in 1989, but was canceled after only one season,[8] when it placed 73rd out of 103 shows in the seasonal ratings, and also because the production studio, GTG (a joint venture of television station owner Gannett Company, later spun off into Tegna, and Grant Tinker, which was established only to produce the newsmagazine based on Gannett's newspaper USA Today), went out of business.[5] Due to high production costs, GTG was unable to finance the series any further.[9]

Feeling the series still had potential, David Hasselhoff, one of the principal actors, along with creators and executive producers Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, revived it for the first-run syndication market in 1991. Hasselhoff was given the title of executive producer for his work on bringing the show back. The series was hugely successful, especially internationally.[10][11]

The show led to a spin-off, Baywatch Nights,[12] and three direct-to-video films:[13] Baywatch the Movie: Forbidden Paradise, Baywatch: White Thunder at Glacier Bay, and Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.

The audience was 65 percent female,[7][14] with its number one audience being women aged 18 to 34. Speaking in 2001, Schwartz explained that, after doing focus groups on Baywatch for about five years, they learned that the show appealed to this demographic because "most of [its] lead characters were strong, independent women who were heroic, who were saving lives, who were equal to men".[15]

In 2018, FremantleMedia International, working with Warner Bros and Illuminate, "remastered" Baywatch from its original 35 mm film to HDTV, and redistributed the series to broadcasters.[16]

Will Rogers State Beach served as the predominant beach location for Baywatch, although some scenes were filmed at Long Beach, California, and in Malibu, California.[2]

The original NBC theme was "Save Me", performed by Peter Cetera, with Bonnie Raitt on guitar and Richard Sterban, bass singer for The Oak Ridge Boys, as one of the background vocalists.[7] From the second season onwards after syndication the theme "I'm Always Here" by Jimi Jamison was used to save costs on royalties and is the most popular theme for the series.[7] David Hasselhoff also recorded a duet with Laura Branigan which was hugely successful for being broadcast as the closing track of the Baywatch TV series. The single I Believe was originally released on CD album in 1994.[17]

In 1999, with production costs rising in Los Angeles, and the syndication market shrinking, the producers sought to move the production elsewhere. They filmed a pilot and announced plans to title the show Baywatch: Down Under. However, strong local opposition from residents of Avalon Beach, New South Wales eventually led to Pittwater Council, the local government area of which Avalon was part of, to permanently ban future production.[18][19] As an alternative to Australia, Hawaii offered the producers large financial incentives to move the show to the islands, instead, and in season 10, Baywatch: Hawaii was launched.

Baywatch filmed for two seasons in Hawaii, from 1999 until 2001. April Masini, a newspaper advice columnist, pitched the move to executive producer Gregory J. Bonann. The agreement mandated that addition of the subtitle, to Baywatch: Hawaii, as well as the hiring local production crew, filming on-location for at least two years, and producing 44 episodes, each at a cost of about US$870,000 (climbing up to $1.1 million), 60% of which was to be spent in Hawaii.[20][21] The series was cancelled due to poor ratings.[22][23]

"Baywatch running" refers to the show's numerous scenes, particularly in the opening credits, of its cast members running across the beach in slow motion, usually wearing distinctive red lifeguard gear. The trope is closely associated with the show and often referenced directly in parodies.[32]

The film adaptation is a comedy, written and directed by Jeremy Garelick. Garelick's previous successes include the rewrite of The Hangover.[33]

In September 2012, it was announced that Reno 911! co-creator and star Robert Ben Garant would direct the film version of Baywatch for Paramount Pictures.[34]

In October 2014, it was announced that Paramount was moving forward with its big-screen adaptation of Baywatch and has loosely attached Dwayne Johnson to the project. The studio also hired Justin Malen to rewrite and attached the comedy writing team of Sean Anders and John Morris to direct.[35][36]

In July 2015, it was announced Seth Gordon would direct with Damian Shannon and Mark Swift having written the latest script with Dwayne Johnson still attached to star.[37]

On August 10, 2015, it was announced that Zac Efron had been cast in the film. Johnson also announced that the film will be R-Rated. The report stated, "The story centers on a by-the-book and very serious lifeguard (Johnson) who is forced to team up with a young rule-flouting hothead (Efron) in order to save their beach from environmental destruction at the hands of an oil tycoon."[38][39][40] That same month, reports were saying that Kelly Brook was in contention to star in the film as C.J. Parker, with Kate Upton and Charlotte McKinney also on the shortlist, but Brook denied the rumor the following day on Instagram.[41][42][43][44] Brook later confirmed that she had read the script but was still uncertain if she would appear.[45]

On November 9, 2015, it was reported that several actresses, including Alexandra Daddario, Nina Dobrev, Ashley Benson, Alexandra Shipp, Shelley Hennig, Bianca Santos, and Denyse Tontz, were in the running for the female lead, with the possibility that some of them could join the film in different roles and other unnamed actresses could be in the running as well.[46] On November 18, 2015, Johnson confirmed Daddario (who previously worked with Johnson on San Andreas) for the role of Summer, originally played by Eggert in the TV series, and revealed the casting of C.J. and other roles would soon be announced.[47] On January 4, 2016, Johnson announced that actress and model Kelly Rohrbach was cast as C.J. for the film.[48][49][50][51] On January 11, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Priyanka Chopra was in talks to appear in the film in a villainous role. On February 16, 2016, Chopra and Johnson released a video to confirm her participation in the above-mentioned role.[52] On January 20, 2016, a release date of May 19, 2017, was announced and Ilfenesh Hadera joined the cast as Stef, the love interest of Johnson's character.[53][54] On January 27, 2016, Variety reported that Jon Bass was cast as Ronnie, described as funny, awkward and a skilled disco dancer who falls in love with C.J. at the beach.[55]

The film was released in the United States on May 25, 2017, by Paramount Pictures,[56] and grossed $177.4 million worldwide.[57]

As of August 2018, Deadline Hollywood reported that FremantleMedia International were eyeing a reboot of the franchise.[27] On April 14, 2023, it was announced that Fremantle are developing a reboot of the series and has held early talks with a number of broadcasters and streamers.[58]

In 2019, it was announced that Baywatch was being revived as documentary feature film. As they explained on the Factual America podcast, filmmakers Matthew Felker and Brian Corso lined up some of the show's top-billed castmembers to take a walk down memory lane for Baywatch: The Documentary and talk about their time on the show and the hours they spent in skimpy red suits.[59]