‘Baywatch’ Showrunner & Stars On “Reminding The Hollywood Community” Of The Power Of Shooting In Los Angeles & Casting TikTok Star Noah Beck: “There’s A Massive Responsibility When You Put On Those Red Shorts”

Nix told Deadline that the TV and movie business began in Hollywood, and that "we forget at our peril" how much that matters. He spoke as debate rages over how many shows move production elsewhere, though a new federal tax credit could help.

The California Film Commission gave Baywatch the credit late last year, worth 40 percent. Nix talked alongside stars Stephen Amell and TikTok star Noah Beck in the days before MIPCOM Cannes, where the show heads this year.

Nix says Los Angeles pulled him to the project. He boarded the long-gestating show while first responders were visiting his house almost every day during last year's wildfires. "People say it's impossible to shoot in L.A., but it isn't," he said. Actors live there, he argued, so the show can book guest performers who might not travel across the country for a single day's work. "The beach is the beach," Nix said, and he put its "essential location value" on par with mountains for a film set in the mountains.

His pitch for the show comes down to one comparison: as much as Miami Vice shaped one generation's idea of Miami, Baywatch created a vision of Los Angeles and California.