Stephen Amell Says Putting on the ‘Baywatch’ Red Trunks Felt ‘So Familiar’ Because ‘It’s a Superhero Show’

Stephen Amell, star of the upcoming “Baywatch” reboot, first came to public attention as Oliver Queen in DC superhero series “Arrow.” But the actor says his new role isn’t so different.

“Once I got on it and I put on the red trunks, I realized, like, why does this feel so familiar?” Amell said of working on “Baywatch.” “It’s because it’s a superhero show. That’s what it feels like to me, and that makes my job easy.”

While spending the working day on the beach might seem like a dream job, Amell went on to explain the reality was somewhat different. “I thought that when I was doing ‘Arrow,’ that shooting from 7 o’clock at night until 7 o’clock in the morning on a rooftop or in a damp building somewhere in Vancouver was going to be the toughest thing that I ever did,” the actor revealed during a panel at Mipcom in Cannes, France. “But man, sunrise to sunset on the beach in Venice, you go through all of the emotions. At some point you’re hot. At some point you’re cold. At some point you’re probably itchy. It was a lot.”

He added: “But man, getting to shoot, especially on Venice Beach — my family and I rented a house there – like, this is the California dream and adventure. It was so special.”

“Baywatch” first launched in 1989. The show, which is owned by Fremantle, ran for 11 seasons and at its peak was one of the world’s most-watched show with over a billion viewers every week across 200 countries, turning its cast – including David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson – into superstars.

The 12-episode reboot, which is produced by Fremantle and Fox Entertainment, sees a new cast of lifeguards don the red bathing suits including Amell, Brooks Nader and Shay Mitchell. Some original cast members are also set to make an appearance, with David Chokachi reprising the role of Cody Madison while Erika Eleniak, Michael Bergin and Kelly Packard return as guest stars.

Fox president Michael Thorne, who joined Amell on the Mipcom panel alongside Nader and Fremantle CEO Jens Richter, said it was important to the team to “embrace what made the show so special: heroism, escapism, a beautiful, intelligent, heroic, flawed cast of characters” while at the same time updating the series for a modern audience.

“The original rescues are so funny,” he acknowledged. “Pamela Anderson would walk up to the edge of the beach, she wouldn’t even put her feet in the water — her hair was perfect, her makeup was on — and she’d reach out very gently and be like, ‘Okay, I saved you!’ And that just doesn’t do it [for viewers today].”

“So we tried to capture the heart and the humanity, the juicy soap, and I think where we really elevated it is in the rescues and what it means to be a lifeguard today.”

“Baywatch” bows in Jan. 2027 on Fox. Fox Entertainment Global holds domestic distribution rights while Fremantle is repping global sales.