Syndication data show Baywatch ’s highest ratings in Germany, France, Brazil, and South Africa. German audiences, interviewed in a 1994 study, cited “the dream of California” and “simple good vs. evil” as primary attractions. In Brazil, the show was dubbed with exaggerated dramatic voices, turning the already camp tone into outright comedy—a case of what Jenkins (2006) calls “textual poaching.” In the Middle East, broadcasters edited out kissing scenes but retained slow-motion running, suggesting that bodily spectacle transcended cultural prohibitions on intimacy.
A German parody filmed in Mallorca, playing on David Hasselhoff’s massive popularity in Europe at the time. "Babe Watch: Forbidden Parody" (1996): baywatch xxx
: The franchise expanded with Baywatch Nights , several reunion movies, and the 2017 big-budget action-comedy film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Zac Efron , which modernized the property for a new generation. Syndication data show Baywatch ’s highest ratings in