• Brooks Nader and Livvy Dunne are reportedly competing to be the breakout star of the upcoming Baywatch reboot
• Nader plays series regular Captain Selene while Dunne appears in just three episodes as junior lifeguard Grace
• A source on set tells TMZ there’s been noticeable “tension” between the two over the Pamela Anderson comparison
• The friction reportedly spilled onto the red carpet at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit launch event in New York City
• The Fox reboot is set to debut as part of the 2026–2027 season, starring Stephen Amell as Hobie Buchannon

The Baywatch reboot hasn’t even hit screens yet and the drama is already running hot. Brooks Nader and Livvy Dunne — two of the new series’ most buzzed-about cast members — are reportedly locked in a quiet but very real competition over who gets to carry Pamela Anderson’s legacy into the next era of the franchise.

A source on set told TMZ that there’s been “tension” between the two women, with conversations about who fills the “Pamela Anderson lane” becoming a recurring topic behind the scenes. Both stars have apparently been openly discussing the “next Pam Anderson” comparison at different points during production — which, as you might imagine, hasn’t exactly made for a breezy set atmosphere.

On paper, Nader has the clearest claim. She plays Selene, the sharp-tongued Captain of the Zuma beach lifeguards, and appears in virtually every episode of the reboot. Dunne, the gymnast-turned-influencer and LSU legend, plays junior lifeguard Grace — but only appears in three episodes. By screen time alone, it’s not close.

But screen time isn’t the whole story. Dunne’s social media reach is staggering, and sources say that influence hasn’t gone unnoticed during filming. When you have millions of followers hanging on your every post, you carry star power into any room — even one where someone else has top billing.

Red Carpet Tension

The behind-the-scenes rivalry reportedly made its way onto the red carpet at the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit launch party in New York City, where both women appeared together. According to sources, Nader was keenly aware of how the photographers were framing Dunne — and at one point directed the cameras to capture Dunne’s good side while they posed together. Whether that reads as gracious or calculated probably depends on who you ask.

Dunne, for her part, was celebrating a milestone of her own that night. She’s now been featured in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit for four consecutive years. “The fact that they keep asking me back — I’m just so flattered,” she said at the event, adding that she felt honored to stand alongside the magazine’s other cover girls. Her boyfriend, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, has apparently been her most enthusiastic cheerleader through it all — Dunne told People he always loves seeing her SI Swimsuit photos.

Nader’s connection to that same red swimsuit runs deep too. When she first put on the iconic Baywatch one-piece for the reboot, she told People she was “bawling, crying.” She’d worn a red one-piece on her own Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover, so slipping into it again for the show felt like something bigger than a costume fitting. “It’s such a full-circle moment,” she said. “It’s such a big moment, and I’m so honored to be a part of it.” She even FaceTimed her family in the swimsuit — and they cried too.

What the Reboot Actually Looks Like

The new Baywatch is set to debut on Fox as part of the 2026–2027 season. Stephen Amell leads the cast as Hobie Buchannon, grown up and now carrying on his father Mitch’s lifeguard legacy. The central plot kicks off when a daughter Hobie never knew he had — Charlie, played by Jessica Belkin — shows up at his door and joins the Zuma beach crew. Her arrival also escalates existing tension between Hobie and Nader’s Selene, who runs things her own way and isn’t thrilled about the disruption.

It’s a setup built for drama, both onscreen and apparently off it.

For context on just how massive the shoes being fought over actually are: the original Baywatch reached over one billion weekly viewers at its peak. Pamela Anderson’s C.J. Parker — red swimsuit, slow-motion run, the whole thing — became one of the defining images of 90s pop culture. That kind of legacy doesn’t just sit quietly in the background. It looms.

Anderson herself has had a complicated relationship with the franchise’s revival attempts. When the 2017 Baywatch movie with Dwayne Johnson was in production, she told Variety that producers pressured her to do a cameo for free — framing it as an “homage” — and kept pushing even after she said no. She eventually agreed, but only without dialogue, showing up at the end for a single slow-motion scene. “There was just so much bullying to do it,” she said.

Anderson hasn’t publicly named a successor or weighed in on the reboot’s casting. But with two of the most talked-about women in the country both vying for her crown, it’s safe to say the conversation has already started without her.

The post Brooks Nader and Livvy Dunne Are Both Gunning for the Pamela Anderson Spot in Baywatch appeared first on Cream.

• Brooks Nader and Livvy Dunne are reportedly competing to become the breakout star of the Baywatch reboot, à la Pamela Anderson
• A source tells TMZ there’s been “tension” between the two, with both women openly discussing the “next Pam Anderson” comparison on set
• Nader appears in virtually every episode as lifeguard captain Selene; Dunne plays junior lifeguard Grace in just three episodes
• The rivalry reportedly spilled onto the red carpet at a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit event, where Nader was seen directing photographers toward Dunne’s angles
• The Baywatch reboot is set to debut as part of Fox’s 2026-2027 season, with a January premiere expected

The Baywatch reboot isn’t even on the air yet, and it’s already delivering drama. Behind the scenes of Fox’s highly anticipated revival, a competition is quietly heating up between two of its most high-profile cast members — Brooks Nader and Livvy Dunne — over who gets to inherit the Pamela Anderson lane.

A source on set tells TMZ there’s been “tension” between the two women, with both openly discussing the “next Pam Anderson” comparison at various points during production. Anderson, of course, made her role as C.J. Parker one of the most iconic characters in TV history — the red swimsuit, the slow-motion run, the cultural imprint that lasted decades. At its peak, the original series drew over one billion weekly viewers. The shoes being fought over here are very large ones.

“There’s been some tension between the two,” the source says.

Who Has the Edge?

On paper, Nader has the clearer path. She plays Selene, described as “the sharp-tongued Captain of the Zuma beach lifeguards,” and appears in virtually every episode of the reboot as a season regular. The show follows Hobie Buchannon — played by Stephen Amell — stepping into his father’s legacy, and Selene’s clashing approach to lifeguarding puts her in direct conflict with Hobie from the jump. It’s a meaty, central role, and Nader has made no secret of how much it means to her.

Speaking to People back in March, she described putting on the iconic red one-piece for the first time as a full-on emotional moment. “I was bawling, crying,” she said. “It’s such a full-circle moment” — noting that she’d previously worn a red one-piece on her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover, which made the whole thing feel like “a long time in the making.” She FaceTimed her family in the swimsuit and they burst into tears too. “It’s such a big moment, and I’m so honored to be a part of it,” she gushed.

Dunne, meanwhile, only appears in three episodes as junior lifeguard Grace. But anyone who’s underestimated Livvy Dunne’s reach before has regretted it. The former LSU gymnast-turned-mega-influencer brings a social media army with her everywhere she goes, and that kind of offscreen star power doesn’t just evaporate when the cameras stop rolling — it amplifies everything she does onscreen. Sources say her following hasn’t gone unnoticed during filming.

The Red Carpet Moment That Said Everything

The simmering competition reportedly made its way off set and onto the red carpet at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit launch party in New York City, where the two appeared together. According to sources, Nader was noticeably tuned in to how photographers were framing Dunne — and at one point directed them to capture her co-star’s good side while they posed together.

It’s a small detail, but it speaks volumes about the awareness both women have of each other’s positioning in this moment.

Both Nader and Dunne have deep ties to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit — another layer to this story that makes the dynamic even more layered. Dunne celebrated four consecutive years featured in the magazine at the launch event, saying, “The fact that they keep asking me back — I’m just so flattered.” Her boyfriend, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, is apparently her biggest fan when it comes to the SI spreads.

Nader, for her part, has been leaning hard into her Baywatch identity. In a recent Instagram dump from a cast dinner, she posed alongside co-stars Shay Mitchell, Dunne, Jessica Belkin, and Hassie Harrison — and announced the show’s January premiere with the caption: “January can’t come soon enough, ok back to saving lives!!”

What Pamela Anderson Actually Thinks of the Baywatch Legacy

Anderson herself has had a complicated relationship with the franchise she helped define. When Paramount revived Baywatch as a 2017 film starring Dwayne Johnson, producers pushed her hard to appear in a cameo — for free, framed as “an homage.” She pushed back, asking to be paid. They kept hounding her until she eventually agreed, but on her terms: no dialogue, just a slow-motion walk-on at the end. She told Variety in 2023 it felt like “so much bullying.”

Anderson hasn’t publicly named a protégé to carry her C.J. Parker torch into this new era — but Nader and Dunne have clearly decided the question is worth competing over themselves.

The Baywatch reboot hits Fox in January 2027. By then, the slow-motion running will be the least competitive thing happening on that beach.

The post Brooks Nader and Livvy Dunne Are Both Gunning for the Pamela Anderson Spot in Baywatch appeared first on Cream.

• Pamela Anderson and Debbie Harry will play daughter and mother in new comedy Maitreya
• Anderson leads as a New Age healer who drags her dysfunctional family to a spiritual conference in India
• Emmy-nominated director Jonathan Krisel and BAFTA-nominated writer Samuel D. Hunter are behind the film
• The project is being launched for international sales at Cannes, with shooting set for late 2026
• The film marks another major addition to Anderson’s post-The Last Showgirl career renaissance

Pamela Anderson and Debbie Harry are about to become family. The two icons have signed on to star together in Maitreya, a new age comedy that will cast Anderson as the title character — a rising star in the wellness world — and Harry as her mother. It’s the kind of pairing that sounds almost too perfect on paper, and yet here we are.

The film follows Maitreya, a sought-after figure in the New Age healing community who’s about to fly to India for a major conference when she gets a call from her estranged sister Monica: their father is dying. Instead of staying home, Maitreya does what any self-styled healer would do — she rounds up the entire family, including her mother Barbara (Harry), and brings them all to India with her. The idea is to put her healing theories to the test on the people who probably need it most. The fact that she’s quietly gathering material for her next book is, of course, purely incidental.

It’s a sharp, funny premise, and the creative team behind it has serious credentials. Emmy-nominated director Jonathan Krisel — best known for Portlandia, Baskets, and Kroll Show, with additional credits on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and English Teacher — will direct. The script comes from BAFTA-nominated writer Samuel D. Hunter, who wrote the film adaptation of The Whale and also collaborated with Krisel on Baskets. This will be Krisel’s first feature film.

Production company Caviar, which previously backed Sound of Metal, is producing. Nadine de Barros’ Fortitude International is handling international sales, which are being launched at Cannes this week. CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group are on board for North America. Shooting is scheduled to begin at the end of 2026.

Producer Michael Sagol, Managing Director at Caviar, is clearly thrilled about the whole thing. “Being a part of bringing Maitreya to life with Jon and Sam has been so much fun already,” he said. “After working together in the branded world for the past decade, now having the chance to produce Jon’s first feature film — a soulful exploration of a dysfunctional family, perfectly suited to his absurdist and distinctive comedic voice — makes us giddy with excitement.”

Pamela Anderson’s Slate Just Keeps Growing

For Anderson, 58, Maitreya is the latest addition to a career resurgence that has been genuinely remarkable to watch. After earning SAG and Golden Globe nominations for her performance in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl — which premiered at Cannes last year — she’s been moving fast. Her upcoming slate already includes Karim Aïnouz’s Rosebush Pruning alongside Riley Keough, Elle Fanning, Callum Turner, and Jamie Bell; Somedays opposite Billy Bob Thornton; Kornél Mundruczó’s Place to Be with Taika Waititi; and Michael Cera’s directorial debut alongside Steve Coogan and Jamie Dornan.

She’s also been filming Queen of the Falls, a crime-tinged road trip romance opposite Guy Pearce in which she plays a roadkill cleaner and he plays a fugitive, the two of them racing toward Niagara Falls in what’s been described as a music-driven, high-voltage love story. Anderson previously told Variety about that one: “Guy is someone I can’t wait to work with. He is a brilliant actor and has taken this on with full force. We are in this together. It’s been a long road, and will be a delicate continuous journey with dedicated preparation to blend the musical aspects in amongst this wild and challenging love-on-the-run style, raw and whimsical story.”

And now she gets to do all of that while Debbie Harry plays her mom.

Harry, 80, is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer as the frontwoman of Blondie, but she’s no stranger to the screen either — her film credits include David Cronenberg’s Videodrome and John Waters’ Hairspray. Watching her bring a deadpan maternal energy to Anderson’s crystal-selling, conference-hopping wellness guru feels like it could be something genuinely special.

Filming starts at the end of the year. The wait is going to be a long one.

The post Pamela Anderson & Debbie Harry Are Mother & Daughter in New Comedy appeared first on Cream.