LA City Officials Make Early Plans For ‘Baywatch’ Season 2

Things are looking promising for Fox‘s upcoming Baywatch reboot ahead of the series’ January debut. It appears that Los Angeles officials are already making preparations to welcome the show back for a second season.

Speaking to city council members on Wednesday, LA’s chief film liaison Steve Kang told local lawmakers: “I can say with confidence that they are very happy with the concierge service that we were able to provide [on Season 1], and they will be returning to Los Angeles for a second season next year.”

Fox and Baywatch producer Fremantle declined to comment.

According to sources, Fox executives are feeling optimistic about the series ahead of its premiere at the top of next year. A renewal decision is unlikely to come before the network sees how the first season performs, but given how bullish city leaders were about winning the production in the first place it makes sense that early planning for its potential return would be underway.

The show received a $21.1 million (40%) tax credit from the California Film Commission, and the city did everything it could to coordinate between multiple jurisdictions at the county and regional level to allow the production to use the historic Venice Lifeguard Operations Station as a main backdrop.

Lawmakers on Wednesday were specifically discussing the series in reference to the so-called “concierge service” delivered to the production in order to help navigate the complex regulatory process to film at iconic locations like Venice Beach.

“Now we know Baywatch is going to be back for Season 2…are there some things that we took from that experience, changes that we can make, operational changes that might be helpful?” asked councilwoman Traci Park, who represents the 11th district of Los Angeles.

The newly formed Ad Hoc Committee on Film, Entertainment and Creative Industry met for the first time on Wednesday to address the permitting and regulatory processes for filming in Los Angeles. The goal of the committee, led by chair Adrin Nazarian, is to streamline processes, lower fees and attract production back at the local level.