MAKING WAVES

A thrilling new lifeguard series dives into the dramatic action along Oahu’s North Shore

- KATE HAHN

A TOWERING WAVE on Oahu's North Shore threatens to engulf gutsy Honolulu County lifeguard Emily "Em" Wright (Arielle Kebbel, 9-1-1) in the opener of this new action drama. She's clinging to a rescue sled being pulled by a jet ski, using her body to shield an unconscious victim. If she can't outrace the powerful water to make it to shore and revive him, he'll die.

The scene is Kebbel's favorite that she's shot so far in this series about a lifeguard team making seemingly impossible rescues and navigating choppy personal lives in their dream gig protecting Hawaii's world-famous beach. It's from executive producer John Wells, developer of such lauded and grittily realistic "work family" series about first responders as ER and Southland.

"That was week one of filming, on one of the biggest days we had at Pipeline. That's not CGI. That's me," she says. "Part of the audition process was they asked me, 'Are you ready for this?' And I was like, 'Hell, yeah!' I got here and I was like, 'Oh my God, am I ready?""

The actress wasn't just thrown into the deep end. The cast trained with jet ski rescue pioneers Brian Keaulana and Terry Ahue for three weeks before cameras rolled. Water shoots have a perimeter of seven to 10 jet skis driven by lifeguards, and one or two marine support boats.