Of all the docuseries and BTS specials within the 2024 TV schedule, only one is fixated on what was at one time the biggest television series in the world: Baywatch. Nearly three dozen of the beach-bound drama’s cast and crew members reunited for After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun, available to stream on August 28 with a Hulu subscription. And former star and producer Nicole Eggert has now kinda blown my mind with a fun fact about the iconic red swimsuits.
Ahead of the docuseries’ streaming debut, Nicole Eggert talked to journalists at the TCA press tour (via Remind Magazine) about her later years in and away from Hollywood after becoming a global celebrity, and why she wanted to help bring this retrospective to life for today’s audiences. And in the midst of all that, she dropped something of a mindblowing tidbit about Baywatch’s swimwear that doesn’t seem like it’d be logically factual. In her words:
When I was on the show, there was just one suit in different sizes. That was before there was any kind of custom-tailored to anything. … [As for her wardrobe] it would be a hanger of two suits, one [to wear] and then a dry one from when you come back. You have two hangers in your dressing room, and it’s just two suits and a robe.
So at least for those first three or four seasons, if not more, each of the Baywatch actresses apparently only had two versions of the swimsuit to wear throughout the productions. And only ONE of those suits was actually meant to get used in the water, with the other being saved for dry shots. That seems like it would create more than a few uncomfortable situations, depending on the order in which scenes were filmed.
One can only hope that there were mini-dryers around the sets that could be utilized to dry the wet suits as quickly as possible. I can think of worse tortures than putting on a one-piece when it’s still wet, but none that come with that awful sub-screech sound of skin-to-damp-fabric friction.
And not only that, but the suits themselves were just generic, off-the-rack pieces whose only difference from one to the next was the overall size. Today’s version of Baywatch would no doubt feature a fairly extensive wardrobe with swimsuits crafted specifically for each of the actors and actresses that show off their body the best.
Granted, I understand that Baywatch didn't immediately start off as a beloved treasure around the world, and producers likely didn't want to blow the budget all on swimsuits. But if they only knew...
Slightly less fun fact: Eggert’s early career included a guest appearance on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, which is another series that also utilizes a highly recognizable red costume. To that end, how weird would it be to see Baywatch stars running around in Luigi-green swimsuits?
After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun will debut on Hulu on Wednesday, August 28, so pull out your most comfortable lifeguard chair and get ready to take an introspective trip back to the beach. (But only during the day, since the Baywatch Nights spinoff became a whole other thing.)
