Set in South Florida's world of models, pools, beaches, drugs, gangsters and nightclubs this is another stab at copying the success of Baywatch, but adding some sub-Miami Vice elements for that prime-time soap measure.
It's also executive-produced by Jennifer Lopez, which explains why it looks like nothing more than one of her music videos. But despite virtually everyone on screen being stunningly good looking it's all fur coat and no knickers. Everyone is a hunk or a babe ready to flash the flesh, but nobody gets involved in anything remotely resembling a decent plot and the dialogue is flimsier than the thong bikinis some of the women wear. If that's all you need then tune in, but when it first aired in America, few did, and it ranked 152nd out of the 156 original series produced for network television in the 2005-06 season and was then dropped after eight episodes.
In LA last year I found myself on the beach where Baywatch was once filmed. It was 10am and few others were about so I ran along the sand in slow motion, just like 'The Hoff' used to do. Then I noticed that coming the other way was someone else doing exactly the same thing. We laughed, and (slowly) carried on our way. Baywatch might have been corny but it was a guilty pleasure loved by millions because it was light-hearted fun. South Beach will only have people running for the remote control, and almost certainly not in slow motion.
