The Biggest Revelations from the New “Baywatch” Docuseries: Jealous Spouses, Low Pay and More

'After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun' is now streaming on Hulu

Welcome back to the beaches of Baywatch!

The hit '90s TV series followed a team of lifeguards as they saved swimmers and navigated their personal relationships, but Baywatch became mostly known for the swimwear worn by the actors: cleavage-baring, high-cut red one-pieces for the women and abs on display for the men.

“People were watching it for the sexy bodies, the slo-mo run,” Carmen Electra tells PEOPLE, who played Lani McKenzie in the show’s eighth season. “These guys were handsome, ripped, and they were in Speedos. It just wasn’t about us girls. We’d say, ‘See? Everything ’s equal around here. Pants off!’"

Now, three decades later, Nicole Eggert, who played Summer Quinn on the show for two seasons when she was 18 years old, tracked down more than 35 cast members to reflect on their Baywatch days in a project she produced alongside Matt Felker, After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun (now streaming on Hulu).

Here's a look at the biggest revelations from the new docuseries.

At its peak, Baywatch netted more than 1 billion viewers

Baywatch was a phenomenon during its 11-season run from 1989 to 2001 — so much so that co-creator Douglas Schwartz revealed it had 1.2 billion viewers per week.

“That was the highest volume of viewers of any show ever in the history of television,” he says.

“The global reach Baywatch had — and still has — is just mindblowing,” former star David Chokachi tells PEOPLE. “I have been in some very remote places in the world, and I’ll get recognized from my time on Baywatch.”

The cast and creators alike were honest about the quality of the scripts

Over the years, the plots got more absurd but fans still weren't deterred. Professional surfer Kelly Slater, who appeared on the show, recalled an episode in which an octopus stole surfboards and held them hostage.

“I felt like the writing was so nonsensical in so many ways,” he says.

Adds co-creator Douglas Schwartz: “We were the butt of jokes on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno all the time, and every time he said a joke, our ratings went up.”

Star David Hasselhoff, who played hunky Lt. Mitch Buchannon, perhaps encapsulated the phenomenon best: “The show really wasn’t good,” he admits in the docuseries. “But we made it good because we had passion.”

Related: Baywatch Cast Reflects on Highs and Lows of the Show in Docuseries Preview: ‘There Really Was No Better Job’ (Exclusive)

Tommy Lee didn't want his then-wife Pamela Anderson to kiss her costar David Chokachi

The docuseries also features archival footage of Pamela Anderson (who starred as C.J. Parker). In one clip, she says she can recall where she was when she realized that she was famous.

“We went to London to promote Baywatch and photographers were falling down backwards and down the stairs and I looked behind me and was like, ‘who are they shooting?’ And it literally dawns on you that it’s you,” she says.

Anderson married M?tley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in 1995, and the relationship between the two was, at points, famously tumultuous.

"It complicated her life. It complicated our life," says co-creator Michael Berk, who recalls a time when a frustrated Lee "trashed" Anderson's trailer while she was busy doing a scene with Chokachi.

In another instance, he recalls Anderson begging him to change the script. "Pam came to me one day and said 'Please, rewrite this scene where I have to kiss David Chokachi. Tommy is just feeling really insecure right now and its not a good time.'"

Michael Douglas shares a similar recollection. "We always had issues with Tommy Lee being jealous of Pam's relationship with other actors on the show," he says.

Chokachi, meanwhile, considered his relationship with Anderson to be like that of "brother-sister," but that didn't mean Lee agreed.

"Tommy Lee took our scenes when we were boyfriend and girlfriend at face value" Chokachi says. "I felt bad for [Pam] because she was under a lot of pressure."

The actors were paid about $3,500 an episode

Despite being a hugely popular show, the cast didn't earn the big bucks. Eggert says they were paid "about $3,500" a show. "Friends at that point I think they were each making $1 million an episode," says Eggert.

Adds Erika Eleniak, "I actually remember freaking out seeing my first paycheck after the taxes were taken out. How am I honestly going to live on this money?"

"There's not one rich actor on Baywatch. Not one," says Billy Warlock who played lifeguard Eddie Kramer for two seasons.

Alexandra Paul pretended to date Jaason Simmons in order to help him hide his sexuality

Jaason Simmons played the show's Australian-exchange lifeguard Logan Fowler.

"His character was always seducing women, and he did it so well," says Simmons' longtime friend and costar Alexandra Paul.

The problem was that, at the time, Simmons was not publicly out as a gay man, and outing gay actors "was like a sport for paparazzi," explains Felker. "They hunted [Simmons] like an animal."

In order to deflect attention, Paul and Simmons pretended to be a couple.

"He's one of my closest friends on the show, so it was a secret we kept," says Paul. "It was so dangerous for a man to come out, especially when you're a handsome leading man because producers wouldn't hire you as a hetero guy getting girls, and that was the character he was playing."

She adds, "There are pictures of him and I in the National Enquirer holding hands and kissing because he needed a beard. We did a photoshoot of both of us naked that appeared on the cover of a British newspaper. We wanted to make sure he was protected."

Amid her breast cancer diagnosis, Nicole Eggert says she has "no regrets"

The actress revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer in early December 2023. Now, she says that she's "just trying to stay positive every day."

"I'm on a wild roller coaster ride. There's ups and downs, and I just try to wake up every day feeling really positive and ready to handle whatever is coming at me, to be honest with you," she tells PEOPLE.

Working on the docuseries for the last five years has also proved to be very cathartic for the former actress, especially as she's grappled with her breast cancer diagnosis over the last eight months.

"Having a young daughter and having this project has been a great motivation for me to not just sit and think about my health and my wellbeing. It's giving me purpose," says Eggert, who is a mom to Keegan, 13, as well as adult daughter Dilyn, 25. "It's keeping me driven every day. I think the timing of life is always for a reason. It's been a great distraction, and my daughters kept me on my toes."

Eggert's history with Baywatch dates back to 1992, when she cast on the show at just 18 years old. She remained on the show for two seasons.

Reflecting on her time on the series, Eggert says now: "I quit Baywatch. [But] running away from things does not make them disappear. As a young person, I sort of ran from it," she admits, "but I also don't have any regrets at the same time. I don't believe in them."

Related: Nicole Eggert Opens Up About the ‘Hardest’ Part of Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis (Exclusive)

Jeremy Jackson struggled with addiction during his time on the show

Jackson, who played the son of Hasselhoff's character on the show, details his addiction to crystal meth in the docuseries. He recalls one interaction he had with Hasselhoff on set.

"I remember David saying 'Are you smoking pot or something?' And I was [thinking] like, Jesus, they think I'm smoking pot? I could never tell them the truth. What would they think?" Jackson recalls.

"When you haven't slept for five days and you've been smoking crystal meth, having somebody look you in the eyes and say 'Dude, are you okay?' is like the worst thing that can happen."

Jackson also served time in 2017 for his involvement in an alleged stabbing.

"I was spiraling down for sure. My life slipped through my hands like sand... Would I do it all again?" Jackson asks himself about his life choices in the series. "Probably not."

Still, the former child star tells PEOPLE that he's grateful to be where he is today.

"It's not about morality, fortitude or personal character and virtue, but I am in remission from the chronic, fatal and progressive disease I was once plagued with, thank God," he says.

Related: Baywatch Lifeguard Mike Newman Opens Up About His 16-Year Struggle with Parkinson's: 'Everything Changes' (Exclusive)

Mike Newman has been living with Parkinson's Disease for 18 years

Newman, the only real lifeguard among the cast, was diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 50, having previously told PEOPLE that “all those things that you thought you were going to do with your children and grandchildren, pictures we were going to take, all the plans I had… stopped.”

After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun highlights Newman's new normal, and what it's been like for him to live with the disease for the last 18 years. He takes 10 medications a day, and he says that in the mornings, he often wakes up "jittery."

"I am cherishing the days that I get to be on this earth with family and friends. I’m taking life seriously," the now 68 year-old tells PEOPLE, before sharing the words he lives by: "'It’s not a run-through.'”

"I hope this documentary sheds light on the heroism of the life-guarding profession and builds respect for the world-wide fraternity of men and women who consider it an honor to risk their lives each and every day to save others," he adds.

Newman also recognizes the importance of opening up about his journey with one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases (second only to Alzheimer's, according to the Parkinson's Foundation).

"I also hope that the telling of my personal story brings awareness to the importance of finding a Parkinson’s cure," he says.

After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun is streaming now on Hulu.

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