EXCLUSIVE: Jessica Belkin (Elle) has landed a central role in the new Baywatch TV series, opposite Stephen Amell, who plays lead Hobie Buchannon, and David Chokachi, who reprises his OG role of Cody Madison.
Belkin’s Charlie Vale is the biological daughter of Baywatch captain Hobie Buchannon (Amell) — the child he never knew. She leaves her complicated home life in Galveston and shows up on her father’s doorstep with one goal: to earn her place as a Baywatch lifeguard. Fearless, passionate, and occasionally reckless, Charlie has all the makings of a Buchannon legend. She has a lot to learn, however, and the father she never met might be exactly the mentor she’s always needed.
The new Baywatch, from Fox and Fremantle, finds wild-child legacy character Hobie serving as a Baywatch Captain, following in the footsteps of his legendary father, Mitch. Hobie’s world is turned upside down when Charlie shows up on his doorstep eager to carry on the Buchannon family legacy. Heartthrob Cody Madison now 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 and a friend, providing a second home for his fellow lifeguards — and always offering free wings after a big save.
Lifeguard drama Baywatch first hit screens in 1989, with Jeremy Jackson playing Hobie, and over the course of its original 11-season run, became the most-watched show in the world, airing in over 200 countries, and at its peak reaching more than a billion viewers every week. The series starred David Hasselhoff and also helped launch the careers of everyone from Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra to Jason Momoa and Yasmine Bleeth.
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Scheduled to launch on Fox as part of the 2026–2027 season, the new Baywatch begins shooting on Venice Beach and the Fox Studio Lot in Century City this spring. Fox Entertainment and Fremantle are co-producing, with Matt Nix (Burn Notice, The Gifted) serving as showrunner and exec producing alongside premiere episode director McG, Michael Berk, Greg Bonann, Doug Schwartz, Dante Di Loreto and Mike Horowitz.
Fox Entertainment Global holds all domestic rights, with Fremantle managing all international sales.
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Recently appearing as Young Margo in Netflix’s hit series The Hunting Wives, based on the novel by May Cobb, Belkin has previously been seen in AMC+/Shudder’s Last Straw, along with American Horror Story: Hotel, Pretty Little Liars, The Orville, Just Add Magic and more. She holds a recurring role in Paramount+’s Yellowstone spin-off The Dutton Ranch and will also soon be seen across multiple seasons of Amazon’s Legally Blonde prequel series Elle, which premieres July 1 and has already secured a Season 2 pickup.
Most recently, Belkin wrapped the Netflix action-comedy Bad Day, playing the daughter of Cameron Diaz and granddaughter of Ed O’Neill. She is represented by Paradigm, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Schuller Talent Mgmt, and Stewart Brookman at Hansen, Jacobson.
English (US) ·