SEE IT: ‘Baywatch’ Is The Latest Victim Of California’s Homeless Crisis

The old “Baywatch” featured lifeguards in signature red bathing suits rescuing beachgoers in the ocean, but in 2026, the lifeguards are rescuing beachgoers on land. 

L.A.’s homelessness crisis made its way into the “Baywatch” reboot as filming featured a homeless man attempting to attack one of its lifeguards, The New York Post reported. The scene takes place on Venice Beach when a homeless man approaches Hassie Harrison’s character with a knife. Stephen Amell’s character rushes in to intervene and fights the homeless before Amell knocks him to the ground and paramedics aid the fallen attacker. 

A video of the cast filming a scene for the new “Baywatch” reboot blurred the lines between the fantasy and reality of living in modern-day Venice Beach. https://t.co/O0Y9eBFyo3 pic.twitter.com/GzZVkHsqni

— California Post (@californiapost) June 25, 2026

The fictitious scene is grounded in reality as L.A.’s large homeless encampments continue to plague residents, including near Venice Beach, where encampments have grown this year and attracted drug users, KTLA reported. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cleared out the encampments in 2023, but residents of the area claim the homeless residents stayed in the area after their tents were cleared and eventually expanded their encampment. 

Venice resident Craig Riveiro told KTLA 5, “Mothers and babies cannot walk on the sidewalks. It hurts the mom-and-pop businesses. It hurts the residents. It caused mayhem.” Other residents say the area has become a hotspot for crime, drug activity, and safety hazards. 

Bass, who declared 2026 as her goal to end street homelessness in L.A., blames government bureaucracy for the failure.

“We haven’t ended it,” she said in May. “Basically when I said that, it was at the beginning of my term. I am very committed to achieving that goal. I didn’t anticipate some of the bureaucratic barriers that I would experience, but I am prepared to take those on now.” 

Bass, who advanced to the mayoral general election over outsider Spencer Pratt, also claimed people who work in the government are reluctant to end homelessness. “The city and the county never made that commitment before, and I found something that surprised me. I found a lot of people who work internally in the system who were very resistant to ending street homelessness.”

While homeless individuals represent a small percentage of the population, the R Street Institute estimates that they are responsible for about roughly 15% of violent crimes in the city. 

Earlier this month, the federal government halted all funds going to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) after the city failed to deliver results after nearly $1 billion in the last five years. 

The Trump administration will keep the suspension in place until the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) completes its investigation into the LAHSA. “Under President Trump’s leadership, HUD will fund results, not corrupt failure or the homeless industrial complex,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner.

“Year after year, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars were funneled to LAHSA with little accountability. Meanwhile, homelessness skyrocketed,” Turner added. “Taxpayers will no longer bankroll an organization that puts its own self-interests ahead of the Americans it was created to serve.”