Stephen Amell says Baywatch reboot feels like a superhero show
Stephen Amell says pulling on the red Baywatch trunks felt like putting a superhero suit back on.
The former Arrow star leads Fox's upcoming Baywatch reboot as Hobie Buchannon, now written as a Baywatch captain. Speaking at Mipcom, the international television market in Cannes, France, Amell said the new show felt familiar from the start. "It's because it's a superhero show. That's what it feels like to me, and that makes my job easy," he said, according to Variety.
Amell previously played Oliver Queen in the DC superhero series Arrow. That history shaped his reading of the lifeguard drama. The red trunks, he suggested, do the same job as a cape. They tell the audience who runs toward danger.
He made the remarks on a Mipcom panel alongside co-star Brooks Nader, Fox president Michael Thorne and Fremantle chief executive Jens Richter. The session brought the broadcaster and the rights holder together in one room. Fremantle owns Baywatch and is organising global sales, while Fox Entertainment Global holds domestic distribution rights.
Amell described a shoot built entirely around the sand. Filming ran from sunrise to sunset on the beach in Venice. He and his family rented a house in Venice Beach for the duration. The hours were long. The location did the rest.
The reboot will run to 12 episodes and is produced by Fremantle and Fox Entertainment. It is scheduled to premiere in January 2027 on Fox. Amell was the first star cast in the new version, which comes from creator Matt Nix, according to Deadline. His prior series credits include Heels.
He plays Hobie as a series regular, meaning a central character across the season. In story terms, Hobie serves as a Baywatch captain. That puts Amell's character in charge of the rescue team at the centre of the show.
The wider cast includes Nader and Shay Mitchell. David Chokachi will reprise the role of Cody Madison, meaning he returns to a part he played in the original series. Erika Eleniak, Michael Bergin and Kelly Packard will also return as guest stars, meaning they appear in selected episodes rather than across the full run.
The original Baywatch launched in 1989 and ran for 11 seasons. It followed Los Angeles County lifeguards and became famous around the world for its slow-motion beach runs. Fox released the first teaser trailer for the reboot on May 23, according to Yahoo, and later released four new teaser promos featuring Amell and Jessica Belkin.
For viewers who remember the original, this version is mixing old and new. Familiar faces are back on the sand. A new captain is in charge. And its lead already knows how to play the hero.
