If you’ve longed to go back to the beach, fear not: Baywatch is returning. With the recent announcement of an officially confirmed Baywatch reboot underway, a whole new generation is poised to discover the high-octane hijinks of one of television’s most persistent properties. Still, for anyone who remembers the sun-drenched heyday of yesteryear, news of the revival should come as little surprise.
Undeniably, Baywatch was a pop culture juggernaut. Thriving in syndication, the series lasted for eleven seasons, and, at its zenith, became the most watched television show in the world, earning a weekly audience of a staggering 1.1 billion viewers. Television movies, Hawaiian off-shoots, and a 2017 major motion picture starring The Rock would follow, confirming that there’s always time for more surf and sand.
Yet, despite the occasional shark attack or beach-bound serial killer, Baywatch remained an admittedly unlikely gathering point for the discerning horror fan. That is, of course, until the autumn of 1995…and the arrival of something new and unexpected, best explained in a paraphrase of a lyric from Grease: “…Baywatch days, driftin’ away…but uh-oh those Baywatch Nights…”
In September of 1995, the franchise debuted an official spin-off in the form of Baywatch Nights, which, true to its title, explored the dark dealings of the beachside denizens after the sun went down.
Developed by Baywatch star David Hasselhoff and creators Michael Berk, Gregory J. Bonann, and Douglas Schwartz, Baywatch Nights was originally intended to focus on the exploits of Hasselhoff’s character, Mitch Buchannon, moonlighting at a detective agency run by his friend and supporting Baywatch character, Sgt. Garner Ellerbee (Gregory Alan Williams). Together, Mitch and Ellerbee, alongside newbie detective Ryan McBride (Angie Harmon), would track down baddies in time for Mitch to make it back to lifeguard the next morning.
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And for the most part, that’s what they did. Production was arranged in such a manner that Hasselhoff could split his time and lead both shows, leaving audiences to wonder when exactly Mitch slept (or how a lifeguard could be deputized to make proper arrests).
While not strictly horror, the heightened presentation of Baywatch Nights’ first season nonetheless offered plenty of outrageousness for audiences to chew on…and veered into territory its parent series would never dare. Fashion models beset upon by a madman, roller skating burglars, and an episode where The Hoff has to go undercover as a drag queen to get a perp, all showcased a willingness to push the proverbial envelope, but something wasn’t quite sticking. Facing slipping ratings, the producers decided to make a shift, and when Baywatch Nights returned for its second season, it arrived with monsters, ghosts, and the paranormal in tow.
Inspired by the success of The X-Files, which was dominating the airwaves at the time, the creative team decided to push the characters’ investigations into the realm of the unknown. Though the show was already prone to eccentricity, the tonal shift was undeniable and would become definitive of Baywatch Nights’ legacy.
The onset of this new era would see the departure of Gregory Alan Williams’ Ellerbee, centralizing much of the action on the duo of Hasslehoff and Harmon. Though their characters were already often teamed in the first season, the intentional evoking of The X-Files made the refocus feel all the more like a purposeful Mulder and Scully dynamic, which was only occasionally counterbalanced by the inclusion of other members of their detective agency.
The second season would also see the arrival of a paranormal researcher played by Charmed alum Dorian Gregory, whose presence became the anchor for the show’s deep dive (pun intended) into the supernatural.
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Returning from hiatus in September of 1996, Baywatch Nights immediately committed to the bit with an episode centering on, of all things, a sea monster. Go with what you know, right? In fact, the first three episodes dealt with maritime creatures, including a half-woman/half-fish entity and a gelatinous beast from the deep, lest you forget this was Baywatch.
BAYWATCH NIGHTS (Credit: All American Television)
In the weeks that followed, Mitch, Ryan, and the gang would face all manner of fearsome frights: Aliens from Roswell, witch covens, seductive vampires, a mummy, and even an ominous game of Dungeons & Dragons with occult implications. Though admittedly silly at times, for a show embracing a genre space that was not shared by its parent program, each week was a big swing. To that end, it’s hard not to recontextualize Baywatch Nights as a bold exercise, albeit perhaps unintentionally.
Ultimately, the show’s supernatural shift was not enough to save it, and the second season proved to be its last. Nonetheless, even in the series’ short existence, Baywatch Nights garnered a small but mighty cult following, and several of the show’s cast members were able to transition back to Baywatch without skipping a beat.
But therein lies the rub. Yes, the spin-off was but a brief blip in the larger history of an ongoing franchise, but it’s also now part of the lore. From that point forward, every time Mitch Buchannon sat in his lifeguard chair, he did so with the knowledge that there was something more out there. Vampires, witches, ghouls, and goblins are all canon in the world of Baywatch. We know, because we’ve seen them…and so has The Hoff.
A vampire? BAYWATCH NIGHTS (Credit: All American Television)
Now, obviously, the reboot can reset the rules of the universe, but rather than ignore the supernatural as the main show did once before, wouldn’t it be more exciting if Baywatch fully embraced every aspect of its legacy?
Realistically, we know that a full-tilt into fright is unlikely, especially considering the fact that the biggest horrors associated with the larger Baywatch mythos are sunburns and restrictive swimwear. Yet, there’s definitely an opportunity here. No one’s saying the show needs to suddenly be Buffy the Lifeguard Slayer, but the ocean is deep and contains many secrets.
Though a minor entry in the scope of the larger franchise, Baywatch Nights’ willingness to break with formula and genre is not inconsiderable. How many other shows have attempted a spin-off so diametrically different from the vibes of its progenitor? We never got a Cheers offshoot where Cliff fought zombies on his mail route or a Gilmore Girls revival that leaned into gore.
Though pop culture elitists, already dismissive of Baywatch‘s perceived fluff, may scoff at Baywatch Nights’ place in the canon of horror television, they would be neglecting the fact that the mere existence of the show was an unlikely gamble.
And isn’t that the point of horror? To subvert what we know? In the right moment and context, Skittles can be just as satisfying as a steak dinner, and for folks to completely disregard the Baywatch universe’s foray into fright would be to miss a truly fun, unique entry of a larger whole.
So, as the franchise returns to a world of surf and sand, perhaps they will also consider some scares as well. After all, every day at the beach eventually becomes night.
BAYWATCH NIGHTS (Credit: All American Television)
