Baywatch Reboot Sets January Premiere Date on Fox

Fox has scheduled its new Baywatch series for Jan. 6 at 9 p.m., giving the beach franchise a winter launch and a firm place on the network’s midseason calendar. The reboot arrives with a 12-episode order and a story designed to connect a new lifeguard team to the Buchannon family.

Stephen Amell leads the cast as Hobie Buchannon, now an adult and captain of the Baywatch unit. The character was introduced in the original series as the son of Mitch Buchannon, the head lifeguard played by David Hasselhoff.

A family connection drives the new story

The series changes Hobie’s life with the arrival of Charlie Vale, played by Jessica Belkin. Charlie is the daughter he did not know he had, and she wants to become a lifeguard while continuing the family legacy. That father-daughter setup gives the revival a direct link to the original without simply recreating its central relationship.

The ensemble also includes Shay Mitchell, Hassie Harrison, Thaddeus LaGrone, Noah Beck and Brooks Nader. Ashley Moore, Luke Eisner, Nadia Gray, Kylar Miranda and Charlie McElveen have recurring roles. Livvy Dunne is set to make her acting debut, while David Chokachi returns as Cody Madison, a character from the earlier television run.

Fox revives a global television brand

The original Baywatch debuted in 1989 and expanded into an international hit shown in more than 200 countries. It later produced the spinoff Baywatch Nights and a 2017 feature film starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron.

Fox ordered the reboot for the 2026–27 season and production began in Los Angeles after an open casting call. Matt Nix serves as showrunner and executive producer. McG, who directed the premiere, is also an executive producer alongside Michael Berk, Greg Bonann, Doug Schwartz, Dante Di Loreto and Mike Horowitz. Fox Entertainment and Fremantle are co-producing.

The premiere date turns the project from a familiar title in development into a defined television launch. Its main creative test will be whether the Buchannon legacy and a contemporary ensemble can give Baywatch a new identity beyond nostalgia.