As the May upfronts loom, Fox has cancelled the Hawaii-set lifeguard drama Rescue: HI-Surf from John Wells after one season, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The freshman drama followed a group of heavy-water lifeguards along the north shore of Oahu and came from writer Matt Kester (Animal Kingdom). Warner Bros. Television, Wells’ long-time studio home, produced the series along with Fox Entertainment.
In 2023, Fox gave a straight-to-series order to Rescue: HI-Surf for its 2023-24 lineup, with Wells to executive produce and direct the first two episodes. The life-and-death stakes series starred Zoe Cipres, The White Lotus‘s Kekoa Kekumano, Arielle Kebbel, Robbie Magasiva, Adam Demos and Alex Aiono.
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The hourlong series chronicled the dramatic rescues and interpersonal dramas of a team of first responders working a particularly dangerous stretch of Oahu’s North Shore. Kester served as showrunner for the series and executive produced with Wells and Erin Jontow of John Wells Productions.
Now with its cancellation, Rescue: HI-Surf is no longer beachfront property for Fox. The Hollywood Reporter critic Angie Han said of the series in her original review: “The action drama regularly metes out dangerous rescues of the lifeguarding variety, plunging deep into the Pacific or zipping around on a succession of jet skis. When its hard-bodied heroes aren’t saving each other’s necks or bickering over office politics, they’re dutifully making eyes at one another.”
The cancellation for Rescue: HI-Surf comes as streaming giants Netflix and Prime Video increasingly dominate the TV space and the May upfronts, while legacy broadcasters like Fox try to keep pace.
