David Chokachi will reprise his original role of Cody Madison in Fox‘s new Baywatch series from Matt Nix. Chokachi joins the previously announced Stephen Amell, who will lead the series as Hobie Buchannon.
Chokachi will recur on the series as OG heartthrob Cody Madison, who is returning to the beach. Cody runs The Shoreline, the unofficially official Baywatch bar-and-grill, and still puts on the red trunks for the occasional shift saving lives. He’s a mentor to and a friend, providing a second home for his fellow lifeguards… and always offering free wings after a big save.
Fox teases that Baywatch will feature adrenaline-fueled rescues, tangled relationships, complicated chemistry and beachside heroics that defined the original — now with an entirely new cast donning the show’s signature red swimsuits, contemporary trappings, tensions and challenges, and a renewed mission to protect Southern California’s shoreline.
The reboot received a 12-episode straight-to-series order from the broadcast network in September, after having been in development at Fox since winter 2024. Production is slated to begin shooting this spring on Venice Beach and on the Fox Studio Lot in Century City.
Following its 1989 debut and a swift cancellation by NBC after one season, the original series became the most-watched show airing in over 200 countries, and at its peak, reached more than a billion viewers every week. Hasselhoff led the series and helped launch the careers of actors from Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra to Jason Momoa and Yasmine Bleeth.
The new Baywatch is co-produced by Fox Entertainment and Fremantle with Nix (Burn Notice, The Gifted) serving as showrunner and executive producer alongside executive producers McG, Michael Berk, Greg Bonann, Doug Schwartz, Dante Di Loreto and Mike Horowitz. McG will direct the series premiere episode. Fox Entertainment Global holds all domestic distribution rights, and Fremantle manages all international sales.
Chokachi is represented by Link Entertainment and Singular Talent.