Fox Sets New Drama ‘Rescue HI-Surf’ For Post-Super Bowl Slot

Nellie Andreeva
·2 min read
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Fox last month doubled down on its commitment to Rescue: HI-Surf, picking up seven additional episodes of the lifeguard drama to bring its first season to 19 episodes. The network now is tripling down on the John Wells Productions series by giving it the biggest platform in television, a berth following the 2025 Super Bowl.

A special episode of Rescue HI-Surf will air on Feb. 9 after Fox Sports’ presentation of Super Bowl LIX, the network announced Monday morning, ahead of its upfront presentation.

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This will be the first time in eight years that Fox will give the post-Super Bowl slot to a scripted series; the last two times the network carried the big game, it went with the unscripted The Masked Singer and Next Level Chef as lead-outs.

Fox had been high on Rescue: HI Surf — which marks ER and The West Wing alum Wells’ broadcast return — from the get-go, giving it a straight-to-series order in April 2023 and envisioning it as a potential franchise.

Earlier this year, as the series, delayed by the strikes, started production on O’ahu, Fox ordered seven back-up scripts which later turned into a seven-episode back order. The decision was made after the first two episodes, written by series showrunner Matt Kester and directed by Wells, were delivered and received very well by the network.

Rescue HI-Surf also is getting the strongest possible drama lead-in on the fall schedule, following Fox’s flagship 9-1-1: Lone Star on Mondays.

Co-produced by Warner Bros. Television and Fox Entertainment Studios, Rescue HI-Surf is an action-packed drama that follows the personal and professional lives of the heavy-water lifeguards who patrol and protect the North Shore of O’ahu — the most famous and dangerous stretch of coastline in the world. Each episode will feature these adrenaline-seeking first-responders saving lives in the difficult and often life-threatening conditions of Hawaii’s Seven Mile Miracle.

The series stars Robbie Magasiva, Arielle Kebbel, Adam Demos, Kekoa Kekumano, Alex Aiono and Zoe Cipres. Sea Shimooka, Shawn Hatosy and Ian Anthony Dale are recurring.

Kester, Wells and Daniele Nathanson are executive producers and co-showrunners. JWP’s Erin Jontow also executive produces.

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