“Baywatch” is officially slow-mo running back onto television, but original series star Carmen Electra has one major caveat before she’ll consider appearing on the reboot. “Baywatch” originally ran for 11 seasons between 1989 and 2001. The series followed the beach-based adventures of David Hasselhoff’s Mitch Buchannon and various other lifeguards, exploring the drama in their work and in their personal lives.
Electra joined “Baywatch” in its eighth season as Lani McKenzie. A new addition to the series’ lineup of lifeguards, Electra’s Lani was introduced as a rookie completing her training in the season’s first episode. While the star was only part of “Baywatch” for one season, she returned for the 2003 reunion movie, “Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.” Electra also brought her “Baywatch” character to a crossover episode of USA’s own beachside crime drama, “Pacific Blue.”
Once word broke that a “Baywatch” reboot had been ordered by Fox, fans began to wonder whether any of the original series’ cast members, like Electra, might return. Tantalizingly, when asked by TMZ if she was involved with the reboot, the star said she was “talking to them right now, so we’ll see.” However, she went on to add, “I don’t know if I’d want to be in the water, necessarily, but I could do the slow-motion run. I can definitely do that. And I still look really good in that suit… Maybe I could be a captain.”
As for her aversion to shooting scenes in the water, Electra offered a simple explanation. “I love being around the ocean. Working in it is very different. When you’re working in the ocean, it is very complicated.”
When is Baywatch back on TV?
Fox has ordered an initial 12-episode run of the “Baywatch” reboot, and while an exact premiere date has yet to be announced, the new series is expected to arrive in the 2026-2027 season. “Burn Notice” creator Matt Nix will serve as showrunner and executive producer on the new series, and the original series’ creators, Greg Bonann, Michael Berk, and Doug Schwartz, are executive producing the new series alongside Dante Di Loreto. The show is a co-production between Fox Entertainment and Fremantle.
The reboot’s official logline promises “adrenaline-fueled rescues, tangled relationships, complicated chemistry and beachside heroics that defined the original.” In order to achieve this goal, the show will feature a brand-new cast (there has been no mention of appearances from Carmen Electra, Pamela Anderson, David Hasselhoff, or any of the first “Baywatch’s” lifeguard crew as of this writing), though the setting retains the franchise’s classic Southern California beach setting.
Discussing the new series, Fox boss Michael Thorn said, “In its first run, ‘Baywatch’ defined an entire era of beach life and elevated lifeguards to an iconic status. Now, with our partners at Fremantle, this television juggernaut is set for a modern-day comeback.” He also promised that the new version of the classic show “will bring the California dream to a whole new generation of fans with fresh stories, rising stars and all the spectacle that make the Baywatch franchise a global sensation.”