1. Leonardo DiCaprio as Hobie?

In 2016, the movie world rejoiced when Leonardo DiCaprio claim his well-deserved Oscar after losing out year after year. But it turns out this beloved actor almost had hold of something else worthwhile back in the early ’90s on Baywatch.

DiCaprio was set to portray the son of Mitch Buchannon (played by David Hasselhoff, of course). He certainly had the talent to pull it off and seemed to fit the part well. There was just one small problem: Hobie, the son, was a bit younger than DiCaprio could realistically pull off. Thus, he was passed over in favor of Jeremy Jackson, who fit the part more accurately age-wise.

2. Rough Start to Baywatch

If you were a true Baywatch fan back in the day, always ready to tune in, you probably watched each season unfold little by little. And you likely also know that the series consists of a total of 11 seasons.

But believe it or not, the first time it aired, things did not look so promising for the show. NBC tried it out for the first time in 1989, and it totally flopped, ranking not even in the top 20 of over 100 shows. It also did not help that the studio behind it at the time was going under.

3. Bought Cheap

Sadly, even shows that garner the most devout followings and have the most fruitful runs sometimes fade into obscurity. The show ran for only one season on NBC, from 1989 to 1990, until it was cancelled.

Fortunately, Baywatch was able to be revived via syndication, and it set the producers back just $10 to make it happen. This was because of a partnership dispute between a network executive and production company. The result? The show had no network attached to it legally, which made snagging it back relatively easy for producers.

4. Dangerous Waters

Ideally, if you were going to make a show about lifeguards, you would make sure that your actors and actresses were proficient swimmers. After all, common sense would tell you that they would be spending a lot of their time in or at least near water.

As it turned out, however, very few members of the main cast were great at swimming. In fact, some could barely swim at all. Pamela Anderson herself professed to have something of an aversion to water. At least they had a real lifeguard (Michael Newman) on duty. More on that to come.

5. A Small Splash for Jason Momoa

Many of the Baywatch actors and actresses went on to fame after the show. Others did not—immediately. Jason Momoa is one of the latter, now well known for his role on the hit HBO series Game of Thrones.

Momoa played lifeguard Jason Ioane from 1999 to 2001 on Baywatch: Hawaii. In one interview, he remarked that getting hold of new work was pretty difficult after Baywatch. He struggled for several years. Fortunately, he has found his place as an actor once more. Not only has he been cast in the lead role in 2018’s Aquaman movie but he also plays Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones.

6. Taking It Slow

Something that made Baywatch so iconic were the slow-motion shots. While Hasselhoff has said that these shots were just one strategy to tack on some extra minutes to an episode, there still is some interesting history here.

The idea of show the lifeguards running slow-motion into action was born when producer Michael Berk saw a colleague’s footage of 1988 Summer Olympic Games sprinters. During the 100-yard dash, the video was slowed down, which added an element of suspense. Thus, the signature slow motion shots were born.

7. Crunching Abs (and Numbers)

A show can really flounder when its budget takes a hit. In Baywatch’s case, the show at one point faced a budget cut of around 30%. Fortunately, nobody had to skimp out on what was important. Rather, the sets simply performed multiple functions.

For instance, the gym set was sufficient to be used as an actual gym. Even crazier, one lifeguard station served as something else. Once the cameras stopped rolling, producers and actors alike could retreat to the lifeguard station for a quick bite to eat, as it was a perfectly functional kitchen.

8. Staying Trim

There is no denying that one big draw of Baywatch went beyond the plot, characters or even the pleasant setting. The actors and actresses were easy on the eyes in their signature red Lycra swimsuits. And they had to put a lot of work into staying that way.

In fact, in the actors’ contract stipulated that they would not gain any weight while filming was taking place. This rule was enforced equally among the men and women. Just a couple extra pounds of weight could spell trouble.

9. A Star Emerges in Season 3

When many people think Baywatch, the first thing that may come to mind is Pamela Anderson herself. While she certainly made a name for herself because of her role in the show, Anderson did not appear until later in the show’s progression.

In fact, her first appearance was not until Season 3, starting with the first episode “River of No Return: Part 1.” From then on, Anderson played the unforgettable CJ Parker, who not only looked great but also was a great actress who kept audiences on the edges of their seats.

10. Debates over Pamela Anderson

Who knew that one of the show’s top stars could have had so many doubts and uncertainties surrounding her? Here is one of the biggest ones yet: David Hasselhoff was at first reluctant to bring her on board at all.

He was not certain that a former Playboy model would be the best fit for the role of CJ Parker. But his concerns were not grounded in moral objections or anything similar. He simply feared that the spotlight would stray from him entirely once a stunning model stepped on set.

11. Sun Soaked

It is not hard to see that there is so much sun to take in on the set of Baywatch. Naturally, then, the actors and actresses who spent so much time out in the sun needed something to protect their skin.

Baywatch’s makeup artist JoAnna Connell reported that the cast went through a whole lot of sunscreen–40 bottles per month, to be precise. It was worth it if that meant fewer painful sunburns and a lessened risk of skin cancer.

12. A Wipe Out

What would a television series that takes place on a beach be without a real-life professional surfer? At one point during the show’s run, surfer Kelly Slater was cast as character Jimmy Slade. However, Slater learned quickly that the actor’s life was not for him, at least not on the set of Baywatch.

For one, it seemed to impede his surfing career more than it helped it. This was mostly due to the nature of the show. He rarely got the opportunity to show off his best moves and instead had to indulge in some very improbable plots. Slater just could not buy such storylines and was creatively written off the show in 1993.

13. Lifeguard on Duty

Baywatch not only managed to get a real surfer on board with the show for a little while. It also featured an actual lifeguard. Michael Newman played himself on the show and was a real lifeguard for the set. He did not just retire the red swimsuti once the cameras ceased to roll.

He used his real lifeguarding skills to help ensure safe stunts on set and to provide material from his own experiences for plot material. He was even able to help his fellow cast members, very few with any lifeguarding experience of their own, better understand rescue protocol. This might have helped breathe some realism into the show that surfer Kelly Slater felt the show lacked.

14. Stars in Their Eyes

It is not uncommon for a television series as established and long-running as Baywatch to feature many guest stars over the course of its time on air. However, Baywatch might have broken a record with all the future stars it managed to cram in over the course of 11 seasons.

The list is exhaustive. If you were a fan during the show’s peak, you might well have seen a number of stars before they were famous, such as Mila Kunis (pictured), Bryan Cranston, Naya Rivera, David Spade, Michelle Williams, and Mariska Hargitay.

15. An International Craze

Baywatch fans hailed from all across the globe, from North America to Europe to Asia. Even Iran, a country known for its stringent guidelines concerning media and entertainment, boasted some very passionate fans. In fact, some were so passionate that they would go to great lengths to get their Baywatch fix.

According to Hasselhoff, some smart citizens in the capital city of Tehran would offer desperate fans the opportunity to watch the show–at a price of course. Those with television and satellite dish access happily paid for tickets to join the billion viewers tuned in all around the world.

16. A Strange Spin-Off

Baywatch certainly had a great run; however, some producers felt that it could do more. The result? A 1995 spin-off series called Baywatch Nights. The show was intended to deal with heavier subjects. In fact, David Hasselhoff would not star as a lifeguard at all.

Instead, his character Mitch Buchannon transformed into a detective whose main goal was to hunt down bad guys rather than save innocent bathers from drowning. The show received only moderate attention during its first season. Even so, producers were so desperate to maintain the Baywatch brand that they went ahead to renew it for another season.

17. Land Down Under

In 1999, the Baywatch crew headed to Hawaii. After all, what better place to set a show about attractive, sun-kissed lifeguards than theAloha State? Believe it or not, however, Hawaii was not the first destination of choice.

Original plans involved moving the show to Australia, for a change in environment. It would also cut down on costs, in terms of creating the show–in theory, anyway. As it turned out, shooting Baywatch on the beautiful Avalon Beach was not at all what producers hoped for. Locals were not too thrilled about their lives being interrupted by the show’s filming, while other inhabitants of the country risked being displaced: koala bears. In the end, the crew packed up and headed for Hawaii (more on that to come).

18. Made for TV

The original Baywatch characters reunited in a made-for-television film entitled Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. The film premiered on Fox in February of 2003 and was filmed at the Turtle Bay Resort in Oahu.

Beyond being a classic reunion affair, the movie follows Mitch Buchannon as he prepares for his wedding. Of course, he had to deal with a number of unwelcome rivals from his past before making it to the altar.

19. Territorial

Nobody likes to watch their significant other get a little too friendly with someone else, even if it is just for work. Such was definitely the case for Pamela Anderson’s husband at the time, Tommy Lee Jones, who was the drummer of the band Motley Crue.

Whenever Anderson’s scenes involved getting too close to her co-star David Chokachi, Lee would lose it and often causing a bit of destruction in his wake, usually broken windows. After enduring his endless shouting, security would have no choice but to escort him away so that scenes could be shot without incident.

20. Moving to Hawaii

So other than being the perfect backdrop for a television show all about lifeguards and the Beach, what exactly attracted producers to Hawaii after learning that Australia would be a no-go? A couple factors came into play.

For one, the Aloha State really encouraged the producers to pack up and head on over by offering the most attractive incentive: money. Advice columnist April Masini, who was then based in Hawaii, had a nice telephone conversation with executive producer Greg Bonnan to get things in order. Before long, the entire crew was Hawaii-bound.

21. Aloha!

Of course, it took a bit more than a single phone call before Hawaii could be made the official Baywatch site and destination of the show. April Masini continued to play a major role in getting the show to the state. The whole ordeal required some political involvement, however.

So who else was involved in this plan? Well, first, everything had to be run by a couple key people: Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau president Tony Vericella and Hawaiian governor Ben Cayetano, as well as his executive assistant Joe Blanco.

22. The Hawaii Plan in Action

After discussing the matter at length concerning moving the show to Hawaii, a deal had been reached. It was official: Baywatch would be fully grounded in the beautiful state of Hawaii once and for all. However, there were a few criteria that needed to be met.

One of the major ones? That the show would then be known as Baywatch: Hawaii. The contract also promised two years of filming, during which a total of 44 episodes would be produced. These would cost $870k each, and a great portion of that money would be spent in Hawaii. Finally, it was promised that many local talents would be hired.

23. A Change of Theme

Who could resist the show’s opening theme song “Save Me”? That theme signaled to fans that a great new episode was about to begin and soon they would either be on the edge of their seat. But in syndication, the show’s theme was quite different.

The new theme song was called “I’m Always Here,” performed by Survivor singer Jimi Jamison. On top of all this, the theme song was also different in the DVD release of the first season. That song was called “Above the Waterlines,” written by Kim Carnes. Not all copies of the DVDs featured this change.

24. Roll Credits

A show’s opening theme is often the most remembered part of a show. But what about the show’s ending theme? While most viewers might choose to flip channels once the credits start rolling, you might have wanted to wait a bit once the show ended during seasons 2 to 5.

From seasons 2 to 4, fans who stuck around to watch the credits roll would get to hear David Hasselhoff himself belt out “Current of Love” by Kevin Savigar and Todd Cerney. Season 5 featured a special ending, also with David Hasselhoff, this time teamed up with Laura Branigan. Together they sang “I Believe.”

25. Believing in Baywatch

As had been previously mentioned, Baywatch did not have an auspicious first run in the United States. However, it had garnered a considerable number of fans abroad. For instance, significant fan bases formed in Germany and Britain.

While it took some work and a lot of convincing the right people, Baywatch was able to return for more seasons. David Hasselhoff had enough faith in the show that he was willing to be paid less per episode provided he earned a share of the profits when the show took off.

26. Baywatch Goes . . . Broadway?

Well, almost but not quite. There have been rumors that the show is set to be revived as a musical but not on Broadway (although, to be fair, it’s not surprising). So, where can you behold this one-of-a-kind production?

It was announced at one point that Baywatch the Musical would premiere in London’s West End at some point in 2017. A specific date was never set, though. If it ever comes to life, fans will get singing and dancing lifeguards and a real water tank on stage.

27. Baywatch Nights’ Soulful Theme

Sure, Baywatch Nights did not have the most illustrious run, at least compared to the beloved show that spawned it. Even so, it might have had some redeeming qualities. One of these of course was its theme song.

Alfonso Blackwell’s “The Nights Will Never Be the Same” soars with its saxophone. The song even went on to appear on Blackwell’s album the following year. What’s more, fans who stayed tuned in until the credits could behold Alfonzo Blackwell and David Hasselhoff teamed up as one dynamic duo.

28. Selling the Show

NBC was not so certain that Baywatch would be a successful show. In fact, the network doubted that it could last beyond one season, at least as far as engrossing plot and characters were concerned. After all, how much can you really do with a team of lifeguards on a beach before the story gets monotonous?

Still, show co-creator Michael Berk knew he had something. In order to sell the show to NBC as something that could be long-lasting, he and his team crafted a montage of lifeguards on Venice Beach. “The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley played in the background. To Berk’s delight, that was enough to convince NBC.

29. The Apple of Borat’s Eye

In 2006, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen portrayed the inimitable Borat in the 2006 hit mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The movie featured Borat’s obsession with the character of CJ Anderson and Pamela Anderson herself.

Pamela Anderson played herself in the film and reportedly really enjoyed working with Cohen. However, once Cohen became Borat on screen, Anderson had to switch tones, as she found herself mock-kidnapped by him in the film. Lifeguarding certainly could not prepare CJ Parker for that!

30. Pop Culture Icon

Over the years, countless films and television shows have made reference to Baywatch. In particular, the classic ’90s TV icon served as a major plot point in the Friends episode “The One Where Eddie Moves In”.

The episode focuses around Chandler and Joey getting ready to tune in for the latest Baywatch episode. Other shows and films to make reference to Baywatch include Boy Meets World, Men in Black, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Happy Gilmore, Saved by the Bell, and so many more.

31. A Legacy Endures

Indeed, Baywatch has helped shape and inspire many of the greatest television series that followed in its wake. But to go back to Friends for a moment, there are several Baywatch references that might have escaped the casual viewer.

Sure, there was an entire episode dedicated to two main characters’ love for the show. It was in fact noted to be the favorite show of both Chandler and Joey. You might even recall their pet duck, whose name was Yasmine. She was named after none other than Baywatch’s Yasmine Bleeth.

32. Getting Along

Ever since Pamela Anderson joined the cast in Season 3, she and David Hasselhoff managed to develop something of a chemistry on set, which is probably one of the main elements that kept fans so engaged for so long. Even though Hasselhoff originally had his doubts, Anderson ended up complementing him in the show rather than totally eclipsing him.

Their chemistry had become so palpable that CJ and Mitch were not totally through. In 2017, the two appeared in the movie version of Baywatch in minor roles. Other big names attached to the film included Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson.

33. The Rock to the Rescue

Although the 2017 film version of Baywatch performed decently at the box office, critics generally panned it. Many felt that it just lacked the heart and soul of the original show. Critics say it dared to be gritty and ambitious with its R rating but failed.

However, Dwayne Johnson, perhaps better known as The Rock, was not afraid to stand up to many of these critics. He took to Twitter to explain that the film’s intended audience was not critics in the first place. And in all fairness, The Rock did play a pretty good Mitch Bucchanon.

34. A Wrestler’s Paradise

Sure, The Rock made a great addition to the Baywatch family in the 2017. However, he was certainly not the first wrestler to ever be involved with the Baywatch brand. Perhaps that is not so surprising when you consider the many names that have been attached to the show alone over the years.

The Rock was the 10th wrestler to make an appearance in the Baywatch universe. Over the course of the show’s 11 season run, such names as Hulk Hogan, Leon White, and Jimmy Hart appeared on the show.

35. A Fan from the Start

Actress Priyanka Chopra starred as character Victoria Leeds in the 2017 film version of Baywatch. This might well have been a dream come true for the actress, as far as she was concerned. Chopra has noted that she has always been a major Baywatch fan.

In fact, when she was growing up in India, it was one of her favorite shows. How’s that for an accomplishment? Not many actors get to star in films inspired by their favorite childhood shows, after all.

 

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Sources: Mental Floss, Useless Daily, IMDb