Oliver Queen has traded the hood for a pair of red trunks. Fox has locked in the premiere for its Baywatch reboot starring Arrow lead Stephen Amell, and the series will debut on Wednesday, January 6 at 9 pm.
Fox had already said the show was arriving in January, so the new detail is the exact night and timeslot. The network's official trailer gives a good look at what Amell and the new team are bringing to the beach.
Stephen Amell Thinks Baywatch Is A Superhero Show
Amell spent eight seasons as Oliver Queen on The CW's Arrow, the series that kicked off the entire Arrowverse, and he says Baywatch brought back some familiar feelings. While promoting the reboot at MIPCOM in Cannes, he explained what clicked once filming started.
"Once I got on it and I put on the red trunks, I realized, like, why does this feel so familiar?" Amell said. "It's because it's a superhero show. That's what it feels like to me, and that makes my job easy."
He also compared the physical grind of the two shows. "I thought that when I was doing 'Arrow,' that shooting from 7 o'clock at night until 7 o'clock in the morning on a rooftop or in a damp building somewhere in Vancouver was going to be the toughest thing that I ever did," he said. "But man, sunrise to sunset on the beach in Venice, you go through all of the emotions."
The comparison is easy to see in the trailer. As we covered when it arrived, the Baywatch reboot trailer brings slow-motion runs, red swimsuits and Stephen Amell to the beach, opening on a rescue after a plane collides with a parasail. Swap the ocean for Star City's rooftops and it is not hard to picture Oliver Queen leading the charge.
Hobie Buchannon Is The New Captain
Amell plays Hobie Buchannon, the wild-child son of David Hasselhoff's Mitch from the original series. Hobie is now a Baywatch Captain following in his father's footsteps, and his world gets turned upside down when his daughter, Charlie Vale, shows up at his door wanting to carry on the family legacy. Jessica Belkin plays Charlie.
The new lifeguard team also includes Hassie Harrison as Nat, Shay Mitchell as Trina, Thaddeus LaGrone as Brad, Noah Beck as Luke and Brooks Nader as Selene. Livvy Dunne makes her acting debut in a recurring role as Grace, while original series star David Chokachi is back as Cody Madison. Erika Eleniak, Michael Bergin and Kelly Packard from the original run are also set to return as guest stars.
An X-Men Showrunner Behind The Scenes
There is another genre connection behind the camera. Showrunner and executive producer Matt Nix created The Gifted, the Marvel mutant drama that ran on Fox for two seasons, along with Burn Notice. The executive producers also include McG, who directed Terminator Salvation, alongside original Baywatch producers Michael Berk, Greg Bonann and Doug Schwartz. The 12-episode series comes from Fremantle and Fox Entertainment.
Fox president Michael Thorn said at the same panel that the goal was to "embrace what made the show so special: heroism, escapism, a beautiful, intelligent, heroic, flawed cast of characters," while upgrading the rescues for a modern audience. The network has promised all the rescues, tangled relationships and beachside heroics fans remember from the original, with a new cast and modern challenges.
A Big Lead-In On Wednesday Nights
Fox has not unveiled its full midseason lineup, but The Masked Singer has held the 8 pm Wednesday slot for the last couple of years and is expected to stay there as the lead-in for Baywatch. It will also be the first time since 2024 that Fox has programmed scripted shows on Wednesdays, when Animal Control aired at 9 pm followed by Family Guy.
For Amell, it is a fresh start after Suits LA was cancelled following one season. He has not closed the door on the DC side of his career, either. When asked about reprising the role in the DCU, Amell said he loves playing Green Arrow and Oliver Queen, and that he would be willing to do whatever pleased the fans, though he is not privy to DC Studios' plans.
His version of the character still carries a lot of weight. Arrow started as a grounded street-level story and ended up launching The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and more, so plenty of comic book fans will be curious to see him lead another big ensemble. For now, though, the bow is on the shelf and the rescue can is in his hands.
Will you be watching Stephen Amell lead Baywatch, or are you still holding out hope for one more Green Arrow run?
Sound off with your thoughts in the comments below.