“Baywatch” was a staple of low-budget, first-run syndication in the 1990s, as natural to Los Angeles as David Hasselhoff’s chest hair and as defining of the city in that era as the O.J. trial and the Sunset Strip.
By the time it ended its run in 1999, it had become too costly to produce at a profit.
But the show’s red trunks and swimsuits returned to L.A. lifeguard towers in March of this year. Like an endangered pelican reintroduced to its native habitat, the Fox reboot was hailed as a triumph for the industry’s hometown, which is suffering through a long slide in production activity. Gov. Gavin Newsom bragged that the show was back “where it belongs,” at a cost to the state of $21 million.
Soon, however, the producers ran into obstacles. Officials from the county Beaches and Harbors Department and the California Coastal Commission told them they couldn’t park their trucks overnight, light fires or drive on the sand.
“We’re a lifeguard show,” “Baywatch” co-creator Greg Bonann remembers saying. “What do you mean we can’t drive a truck on the beach?”
