Fox Finally Has the Perfect Replacement for ‘9-1-1’ Lined Up
When 9-1-1 hit the airwaves in 2018, it was a massive hit right away. With a cast boasting big names such as Angela Bassett and Peter Krause, and the pedigree of Ryan Murphy behind it, the first-responder drama instantly provided tons of fast-paced action and high-octane rescues. But by 2023, Fox was realizing that the series was costing them a pretty penny to produce. With enormous production costs of approximately $9 million an episode and a pricey licensing fee to Disney’s 20th Television (which owns the rights to the show), Fox decided to throw in the towel with 9-1-1. The series moved on over to ABC, but two years later, the network is still searching for a proper replacement for the first-responder procedural. The good news is that they just might have found it now.
Fox’s ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ and ‘Rescue Hi-Surf’ Didn’t Manage To Draw Audiences In
In 2020, Fox released a spin-off of the original 9-1-1 series called 9-1-1: Lone Star, featuring Rob Lowe and Gina Torres at the helm and a brand-new location in Austin, Texas. However, as soon as the flagship series moved over to ABC in 2023, 9-1-1: Lone Star seemed to have lost some of its mojo (and definitely lost some of its viewers). The loss of synergy of the two shows airing on the same network definitely impacted the series, and its cancellation was announced in 2024, with its series finale airing in February 2025.
Fox did its best to find another first-responder procedural to air, this time locating the action in Hawaii. Rescue HI-Surf premiered in fall 2024, but was decried by critics and viewers for having way too much melodrama. Audiences just seemed to have a hard time connecting with the characters and storylines. This led to the series being cancelled after one season, leaving Fox in need of another first-responder procedural to fill the void.
The ‘Baywatch’ Reboot Is Officially Moving Forward
There have been rumblings for years now that a Baywatch reboot was being floated around Hollywood. The original series was a huge success, when it aired from 1989 to 2000. The 11-season run of the show became a pop culture obsession with those famous red bathing suits and sexy running-on-the-beach scenes. The series also demonstrated that first-responder procedurals could take place in unexpected locations with heroes that didn’t look like traditional police officers or firefighters. It also helped further gender equality on television.
While some decried the women as being overly sexualized, the series also featured the female characters saving the day just as frequently as the men did. The drama also helped create mega-stars out of David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, and a young Jason Momoa. With the buzz the series created when it was on the air, it’s not at all surprising that Fox would be interested in recreating some of that magic with its current lineup.
Fox announced that they’d be greenlighting a Baywatch revival in a straight-to-series order of 12 episodes for the fall 2026 network season. Several of the original creators will be returning to the project, and the showrunner will be Matt Nix, who created Burn Notice. While we’ll have to wait a year to watch the show, there’s already some exciting chatter about what we have in store for us. There isn’t any additional information yet about casting or locations, but this Baywatch procedural could be Fox’s best chance at finally replacing 9-1-1.
‘Baywatch’ Could Be the Perfect ‘9-1-1’ Replacement for Fox
The series already has an IP that people will recognize, which could be a reason why Rescue HI-Surf failed to take off. Most first-responder shows come with a built-in audience of some kind, and if the revival is working with some of the same team that made the original a success, Baywatch has a great chance at also making this new iteration a hit too.
Fox has been searching for the right series to finally boost their ratings back to where they were during the 9-1-1 days. Baywatch is a perfect replacement because many people will tune into the premiere just to see how close it is to the original. Any fans of the show from back in the day will likely help Fox get impressive numbers to start out with. As long as the new show brings the drama and excitement that the original was known for, the Baywatch reboot will likely stick around for some time to come.
The original Baywatch is available to watch on Tubi in the U.S.
