Some old lifeguards known as the Red Knights are having a reunion at Baywatch. Among the lifeguards are the legendary Bud Gates who was the first lifeguard ever to swim to Catalina and back in the nude. But after a couple of years he mysteriously disappeared from the beach. Later it's revealed that he is convinced he saw Marilyn Monroe on the beach one day. When he was about to make a move on her, he got a call that someone had seen sharks at Topanga Beach. Later when he got back, she was nowhere to be seen. When Marilyn Monroe died, he retired as a lifeguard and went back to Omaha and opened a hardware store.
This long-running series follows the adventures of a team of lifeguards on the crowded beaches of Los Angeles County. Veteran lifeguard Mitch Buchannon watches over the younger lifeguards that come and go with each passing season as they keep the beaches safe for vacationers. Frequently he must take action to save them from the raging seas and from the raging tempers that sometimes flare up between the young guards in this stressful job.