Video Interview: Greg Bonann

NEW YORK: Greg Bonann, the part-time lifeguard who co-created Baywatch, is hoping to have a similar level of success with his new show, Pt Dume.

First broadcast from 1990 to 1999, the original Baywatch has been ranked by the Guinness World Records as the most-watched TV show in history, notching up over a billion viewers globally. With its potent mix of sun, sand, David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson, the series was a huge hit, both in the U.S. and around the world. It also offered up a new model in the television business, moving to the syndication market after its cancellation by NBC and thriving there for years.

Bonann is looking to replicated that success with his new show, Pt Dume. Twentieth Television is handling U.S. distribution on the Malibu-set show, which has already sold to Tribute Broadcasting Stations for a fall 2011 launch in a prime-time slot. Bonann met with World Screen to talk about the genesis of the series and the key role he sees the international market playing in Pt Dume’s future, with global distribution being handled by Chris Philip’s Engine Entertainment.