Fox has pulled a familiar whistle back to the shoreline: its Baywatch reboot has cast its first returning face from the original series, bringing David Chokachi back as Cody Madison in a recurring role for the 2026–27 season.
In the updated setup, Cody now runs The Shoreline, described as the “unofficially official” Baywatch bar-and-grill, and still steps into rescues when needed. The character will serve as a mentor figure to the new lifeguards, a built-in link to the franchise’s late-run era as the show introduces new leads and a new weekly engine.
Chokachi joins previously announced star Stephen Amell, who will play an adult Hobie Buchannon, now a Baywatch captain. The logline says Hobie’s life flips when Charlie, a daughter he did not know he had, arrives determined to join Baywatch and extend the Buchannon name on the beach. Production is slated to start this spring, with filming planned at Venice Beach and on the Fox lot in Los Angeles.
Behind the scenes, Matt Nix will run the series as showrunner and executive producer, with McG directing the premiere. Fox and Fremantle are producing the 12-episode first season, with original creators Michael Berk, Greg Bonann and Doug Schwartz among the executive producers. Fox has framed the reboot as a modern take that keeps the rescue set pieces and relationship churn that drove the original’s syndication life.
Fox is also widening the net for new talent. The company scheduled an open casting call for Feb. 18 in Marina Del Rey, seeking performers 18 and older for roles ranging from lifeguards and beachgoers to bartenders and rescue victims, with Thorn calling it a chance to find “fresh faces” with “authentic SoCal energy.”
