'Arrow' Icon Finds His Next TV Project After Failed 'Suits' Spin-Off

2 weeks ago 17

Published Feb 13, 2026, 7:47 PM EST

In addition to being a die-hard fan of filmmaking, television, video gaming, and anything else with a gripping narrative, Aidan Kelley is also a passionate and detail-oriented writer and journalist at Collider.com. In addition to his work as a Senior Resource Writer, Aidan has also contributed to Collider's features and news reporting sections. He has covered major industry events, such as San Diego Comic-Con and the D23 Expo, and has had the privelege of interviewing industry stars like Bruce Campbell, Maggie Q, Chad Stahelski, and more. This sincere love for the art of storytelling began at a young age, with Aidan making video movie reviews for the news program at his local high school. That love only increased over the years, with an ongoing career in independent filmmaking and screenwriting after graduating with a degree in Film and television from DePaul University.

Long before James Gunn and Peter Safran's DCU, and even more the Zack Snyder-founded DCEU for that matter, The CW found itself creating a shared superhero universe with a little show called Arrow. A serious and gritty take on the usually sarcastic and fun-loving Oliver Queen, not only did the long-running show inspire several spin-offs like The Flash and Superman & Lois, but the Arrowverse also created a certified star in Stephen Amell. Now, after losing his previous leading role after Suit LA's time was cut short, Amell will reportedly now star in a familiar franchise with Fox's highly anticipated Baywatch reboot.

This marks the first official casting for Fox's reimagining of the massively iconic lifeguard procedural, which originally ran from 1989 to 2001 and helped launch the careers of both David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson. Amell will reportedly star in the show as Hobie Buchannon, the son of David Hasselhoff's character, Mitch Buchannon in the original series who was played by Brandon Call in the first 21 episodes before being recast with Jeremy Jackson. According to an official description for Amell's version of the character, Hobie will be the focus of the rebooted series as oppossed to Mitch, with him being a father figure himself:

"Hobie’s world is turned upside down when Charlie, the daughter he never knew, shows up on his doorstep, eager to carry on the Buchannon family legacy and become a Baywatch lifeguard alongside her dad.”

Fox officially confirmed plans to reboot Baywatch in October 2025, with the expectation it could be a viable competitor to the massively popular 9-1-1. The above description already confirms a decent departure from the original series, with Mitch being either a smaller supporting character or simply won't appear in the show at all. An actor for Charlie or the other members of Baywatch's new lifeguard team has not yet been revealed, but will likely be revealed soon now that Amell has been revealed as the lead.

This Isn't the First Time 'Baywatch' Has Been Rebooted

Baywatch was nothing short of a staple in the '80s and '90s, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the upcoming revival isn't the first attempt at rebooting the franchise. In 2017, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Zac Efron attempted to revive the series as a feature film, opting for a somewhat meta and comedic approach in the same vein as Channing Tatum's 21 Jump Street movies. Unfortunately, Baywatch 2017 did little to impress critics or audiences with respective scores of 18% and 55%, though it did okay at the box office with a haul of $177 million on a $69 million budget. Only time will tell if Stephen Amell and Fox can put their CPR skills to good use and bring the long-dormant franchise back to life.

Fox's Baywatch reboot is in development now. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.