Stephen Amell’s Procedural Reboot Brings Back Original Star 27 Years Later

3 weeks ago 18

Stephen Amell as Ted Black wearing a suit and sittin with his hands folded in Suits LA

Published Feb 17, 2026, 5:46 PM EST

Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025.

The second cast member has been added to Stephen Amell's procedural reboot series at Fox, and it is a star from the original show.

Baywatch, the iconic series about lifeguards patrolling the beaches of Los Angeles, is being rebooted with Amell playing the series regular lead role of Hobie Buchannon, the son of David Hasselhoff's Mitch Buchannon. The new series features 12 episodes and will debut during the 2026-2027 network television season for Fox. Filming begins this spring, with Matt Nix as the showrunner and McG directing the first episode.

Now, Amell is being joined by David Chokachi, who is reprising his role as Cody Madison in Fox's Baywatch reboot. Chokachi was a series regular in seasons 6-9, which aired from 1995-1999, during the original series. In the reboot, Cody runs Baywatch's bar-and-grill, The Shoreline, and still occasionally works as a lifeguard. He is also a mentor and friend to the other lifeguards, with his establishment becoming a second home for them. Check out the official description of the show below:

The wild child Hobie Buchannon we all loved from the original series is now a Baywatch Captain, following in the footsteps of his legendary father, Mitch. 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.

With Amell playing Hobie and Okachi coming back as Cody, the next role to be announced will likely be Charlie. Before this, though, the series is further cementing its ties to the original Baywatch by emphasizing that Mitch's son and the returning Okachi will be at the heart of the series. This connectivity is more likely to appeal to longtime fans, especially those who may be skeptical of the reboot. Cody being back opens the door for more familiar characters to appear as well.

This is not the first time that the Baywatch IP has been expanded on, as the spinoff series Baywatch Nights aired from 1995-1997, and a movie starring Dwayne Johnson as Mitch was released in 2017. Neither expansion lived up to the reputation of its predecessor, with the spinoff canceled after two seasons and the movie receiving a dismal 18% critics' score and a 55% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Hasselhoff was a series regular in Baywatch Nights and both he and Pamela Anderson had cameos in the film.

Outside of playing Cody in Baywatch, Chokachi has had roles in Witchblade, Soul Surfer, and Emerald Run. Amell played one of the Arrowverse's most important characters, Oliver Queen, for years and was in both seasons of the professional wrestling drama series Heels. More recently, he starred in the NBC spinoff Suits LA, which was canceled after one season.