You know you loved to watch. Because there is no way that Baywatch was able to become the most-watched television show in the world during its decade-long, slow-motion run from 1989 to ’99 without a lot of people tuning in. Even if they didn’t want to admit it.
“At least two people have come up to me and told me, ‘I learned CPR from watching Baywatch and I saved a life,’” says Jeremy Jackson, one of the countless actors looking back at their part in the global phenomenon in After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun, a fabulous four-part Hulu docuseries from ABC News and filmmaker Matthew Felker. From its origins a spec script aimed at capitalizing on the surge of interest in California’s surf culture to the casting of David Hasselhoff and its ill-fated single season on NBC to a record-breaking popularity that spawned countless imitators, a big-screen adaptation and countless gags, Felker has pieced together one of the most important historical documents for a generation that knows Baywatch was way more than just a celebration of skimpy red swimsuits or a pipeline to Playboy pictorials.
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“It was a serious look at lifeguarding and when I say that, people laugh,” admits Erika Eleniak, who played Shauni McClain when the show premiered in 1989. “But it’s true. You had cop shows, you had lawyer shows, you had doctor shows… this was about lifeguards. And everything we did was by the book. The swimsuits were standard-issue suits. Everything was done by regulation on NBC at the time.” Once it was axed by the network and moved into syndication, “everything went out the door,” she adds.
“When it was on NBC, it was kind of a family show, CHiPs on the beach kind of thing,” points out her original cast member Billy Warlock. “As it [progressed, it became far more about pretty people… it shifted a little bit.”
Yes, the sun-soaked drama about Los Angeles County lifeguards, led by the Hoff’s Mitch Buchannon, is best known for feeding the world a steady diet of bombshells, including Eleniak, Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Nicole Eggert, Carmen Electra, and Traci Bingham. There is no denying that the froth on the surf was from all the skin splashing around (and let’s not forget, the guys could get it 24/7, too!). But there was also, beneath the sunscreen and music montages, a shockingly innocent series in which moral lessons were taught on the regular, and environmental issues were addressed with the help of a bonkers roster of guest stars (Mariska Hargitay! Bryan Cranston! Carrie-Ann Moss! Hulk Hogan! Shaggy!) and sex was only barely implied.
For a show so nekkid on the surface, it had deeper things going on. It was kind of tame yet tantalizing, with serious themes tucked into a package that didn’t take itself too seriously (unless you’re David Chokachi, who admits in the show to being very serious about his package). And it was a helluva lotta fun — even the final Hawaii-set season that gave us Jason Momoa and the underrated Jason Brooks.
Maarten de Boer / TV Insider
We’ll probably never have a show with such a pop-culture bang as Baywatch again. As you can tell from our recent sitdown with Eggert, Bingham, Felker, Warlock, Jackson, Chokachi, Electra, Eleniak, and Alexandra Paul, they are not only aware of what the show was for people but also what it means for them now. Honestly, could you imagine a sleepover with Bingham and Electra? And hello, Mr. Warlock in his Silver Fox era!
Much of the cast has remained close through some decidedly and very public hard times addressed in the series, and even the actors who never even worked together share the connection of being part of the show we still talk about today. A bond, Eggert reveals, that made pitching the project to the expansive ensemble a lot easier. “We did get to know each other at different reunions, parties, and get-togethers,” notes Eggert, who helped Felker round up the alums. “So it was really fun to reach out to everybody and see if they wanted to be involved.”
After all of that running, rescuing, and decades of disrespect from fans who denied being secret diehards, they deserve their moment in the sun, too.
After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun, Now Streaming, Hulu
