New Baywatch TV trailer: Slow-motion running and cheesy heroics are full systems ago in 2027 revival

Just because it’s 2026 doesn’t mean the new Baywatch TV reboot is going to fully embrace modern sensibilities.

The first trailer for the upcoming show landed today and it has made clear that you should very much expect glistening bodies in red swimming costumes.

A six-pack here, some sculpted pecs there, and definitely some thigh-high leg action. It wouldn’t be Baywatch if it came over all modest-like.

Obviously no one is tuning into Baywatch for high-minded, serious philosophical discussions about the state of the world, that’s not why it exists.

It’s about cheese, gooey, rich, fonduey cheese. It’s earnest and wholesome, and imagines a world in which people are good and well-intentioned, and they’ll do whatever it takes to save the day.

“Saving people is my purpose,” one character says in the trailer, not a hint of irony or snark. She believes it, and Baywatch wants you to believe in the mission too.

Another character – a blonde woman who looks like all the other blonde women who have worn that iconic suit – responds to the question “are you with Baywatch?” with “the one and only”, it truly is singular.

Like, maybe not by the literally singular because the original series has spun off two shows, a movie and now this sequel, but Baywatch as a brand is distinct.

That brand is slow-motion running and over-the-top heroics, which this trailer serves up on several platters. Lifeguards are sprinting, jumping, diving and generally being action-forward as they battle nose-diving planes, explosions and their own hormones.

This new version exists in the same narrative universe as the original, centred on the character of Hobie Buchanan, who is the son of Mitch (David Hasselhoff). Just like his old man, Hobie’s life is at the beach and is now the captain of the squad.

Stephen Amell is now playing the character that was previously portrayed by Jeremy Jackson.

The story kicks off when a young woman named Charlie (Jessica Belkin) arrives looking for Hobie and tells him that she’s his biological daughter. She isn’t interested in money but she does want a job as a third-generation lifesaver.

Question: Has anyone told Mitch he’s a granddaddy?

The rest of the cast includes Shay Mitchell, Brooks Nader, Noah Beck, Thaddeus LaGrone, Hassie Harrison and Livvy Dunne. There’s also a familiar face in the trailer – David Chokachi, who is reprising his role as Cody from the original series.

Chokachi won’t be the only returnee. He is expected to be joined by Erika Eleniak, Michael Bergin and Kelly Packard as guest stars across the 12-episode first season.

The original Baywatch was, at one point, the most watched TV show in the world. It’s often been claimed that its peak, it had a billion viewers globally. It premiered in 1989 and ran until 2000, followed by a reunion special in 2003.

It made Hasselhoff, already a star in the US, an international name and launched the acting career of Pamela Anderson.

The series will be available in Australia through Stan, with the premiere slated for January.