“Red Swimsuits? Such a Bold Change”: First Baywatch Reboot Photos Are Here — and Fans Are Not Impressed
The new Fox series is officially in production, but a lot of viewers think the “new” look feels awfully familiar.
The first behind-the-scenes photos from Fox’s upcoming Baywatch reboot are here, and the reaction online has been pretty immediate. The new series already has a 12-episode order for the 2026–2027 season, with Stephen Amell, Jessica Belkin, Shay Mitchell, Brooks Nader, Noah Beck, and Livvy Dunne among the cast. Original Baywatch actor David Chokachi is also returning as Cody Madison.
I’ll admit, this one only really caught my attention because of Stephen Amell. I loved him as Green Arrow, so I’m at least curious enough to give this a shot based on his casting alone.
That said, if Fox was hoping the first photos would wow people, that is not really how this rollout is going so far.
A lot of the Facebook comments zeroed in on one obvious point: the uniforms do not look all that different. “Red swimsuits? Such a bold change,” one person joked. Another wrote, “They took a big leap in changing those uniforms, eh,” while someone else summed it up with, “Wow thank god you let me know I would never have known that was Baywatch with such massively different red swimwear as the old show had.”
Others got stuck on the styling choices. “The men in huge baggy shorts,” one commenter wrote, while another added, “The men should be wearing red speedos.” A few people also thought the cast photos looked oddly repetitive, with one person asking, “Same girl 4 times?”
There was also some confusion over whether this even counts as a true reboot. “Baywatch reboot’s reboot, you mean,” one person wrote. Another pointed out that with a returning character and Amell playing an older Hobie Buchannon, this feels more like a continuation than a full reset.
Not everyone was negative, though. A few people said they would tune in just for Amell or Shay Mitchell, and others thought it already looks more promising than the 2017 movie.
At this point, it feels like people are cautiously curious at best. Nostalgia might get viewers to check out the premiere, but it is going to take more than familiar red swimsuits to keep them watching.
For now, the reaction feels pretty similar to the internet response to Dwayne Johnson’s long-haired Maui reveal and Kevin Hart’s baffling wax figure: people saw the first look, and the jokes basically wrote themselves.
Read more: Dwayne Johnson’s Long-Haired Maui Reveal in Disney’s Live-Action Moana Is Getting Roasted Online
Read more: Kevin Hart Saw His New Wax Figure and Asked What Everyone Else Was Thinking: ‘Who Is That?’
