‘Baywatch’ Producers Renewed Spinoff Failure ‘Baywatch Nights’ to Save Face
Baywatch is the epitome of classic American television, a show that embraces cheesy slow-motion running scenes, beautiful people in scanty bathing suits, and lots of dramatic situations. Although the original series went off the air more than two decades ago, fans still turn to Baywatch when they want to enjoy mindless entertainment and some of their favorite stars — pop culture personalities like David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson. Baywatch has spawned a media empire and several spinoff shows, including one that notably crashed and burned after only two seasons.
What is ‘Baywatch’ about?
An action-drama series with dashes of romance and intrigue, Baywatch first premiered on television in 1989. Starring Hasselhoff as lead lifeguard Mitch Buchannon, Baywatch follows a group of lifeguards who live and work along the picturesque California coast.
Featuring a large ensemble cast, Baywatch had no pretensions and included lots of cheesy situations and over-the-top moments. Still, fans gravitated to the series, loving the beautiful people and the entertaining situations.
Baywatch never received critical acclaim, but it did launch the careers of several stars, including young model Anderson. The actor made a splash in her now-infamous red swimming suit, and she went on to become one of the biggest pop-culture personalities of the 20th century.
It also served to cement Hasselhoff’s place in the entertainment industry, and to date, he is still best known for his work in Baywatch.
‘Baywatch’ spawned several spinoff programs
In 1999, after several seasons of lagging ratings, showrunners gave Baywatch an overhaul, bringing the show back with an all-new cast and a brand-new location. Instead of California, the new Baywatch: Hawaii set the lifeguards in Hawaii and introduced viewers to young talents like Jason Ioane, played by Jason Momoa. Unfortunately, the new series failed to take off, and in 2001, it went off the air for good.
Fans still had a hunger for more Baywatch, however. In 2017, a major motion picture was released, starring Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson. The feature film was titled Baywatch and followed the same loose premise as the original television series.
Like the series, the Baywatch movie wasn’t critically acclaimed, but it was a lot of fun — proving that, after all these years, pop culture fans still gravitate to the classic fun of the Baywatch franchise.
What happened to ‘Baywatch’ spinoff ‘Baywatch Nights’?
Baywatch: Hawaii wasn’t the only spinoff that experienced a failure to launch. In 1995, when the original Baywatch was still going strong on television, the first spinoff series, Baywatch Nights, debuted on television.
Created around the character of Mitch Buchannon, Baywatch Nights told the story of a detective agency helmed by a former police sergeant named Garner Ellerbee, played by Gregory Alan Williams. Joined by his old friend, Mitch Buchannon, the two attempt to solve tough cases involving kidnapping, theft, and more.
According to Mental Floss, Baywatch Nights was supposed to be a more adult-oriented approach to the Baywatch fandom, but ultimately, it didn’t appeal to viewers in the same way that Baywatch did. The series didn’t do very well during its first season.
But in a bid to make it seem as though the brand was still going strong, showrunners went ahead and renewed it for a second season. The second season would be the last one for Baywatch Nights, however, and it went off the air for good in 1997.
