Baywatch is coming back, and there is an open casting call with an interesting stipulation. Baywatch was a drama television series following a team of lifeguards who patrolled the beaches of Los Angeles. It aired for only one season on NBC before the network canceled it, but it got a syndication deal and ended up as one of the most-watched shows on television, with an audience of over a billion viewers at its peak (a Guinness World Record). There have been spin-offs, such as Baywatch: Hawaii and Baywatch Nights, and a movie with Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, but now itis getting a reboot.
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The Baywatch reboot is holding casting calls for the new series. Fox is producing the new series, and the producers are asking people to come to try out for the show dressed in wardrobe that “evokes a beach setting, while remaining polished, professional and avoiding overly revealing styles and costumes.” It sounds like the casting producers want people arriving in swimwear, but not coming off as too risque. This will be an open casting call on February 18 for roles including “lifeguards and beachgoers to bartenders, buddies and love interests to rescuers and rescuees of all kinds, as well as additional characters yet to be written.”
The original Baywatch series starred David Hasselhoff as Mitch Buchannon, the head lifeguard on a California beach. It was also a series that introduced the world to several young stars, some of whom came straight from the role of modeling, and more than one from the magazine Playboy. This includes names like Pamela Anderson, Erika Eleniak, Yasmine Bleeth, Nicole Eggert, Alexandra Paul, Billy Warlock, Jeremy Jackson, Jason Momoa, and Parker Stevenson, among others.
What to Expect from the New Baywatch Series?
The new Baywatch series is coming from Lara Olsen, who produced both Reign and the 90210 reboot series. It also sounds like this won’t reinvent the wheel and will stick with what made the original series the most popular on television in the 1990s. The snyno[psis reads: “Lifeguards train rookies while facing dangers on the beach and complicated personal relationships.” The casting call also announces it is for aspiring actors over 18, and it seeks to “discover fresh faces with authentic SoCal energy as we bring back Baywatch for a new generation of fans.”
The original series was known for its sexualization of its cast, both men and women, which was profiled recently in a Hulu documentary titled After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun, which revealed that men and women were fired if they fell even slightly out of shape, causing several cast members to experience mental health issues concerning body image. One wonders what the new show will be looking at when it comes to the cast, and what protections will be in place for anyone who takes on a lead role in the new Fox reboot of the franchise.
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