‘Lifeguards Were Born Because of the Choices We Make in the Water,’ Says Arielle Kebbel of RESCUE: HI-SURF

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede So let’s get this straight, Arielle Kebbel. Your hit series RESCUE: HI-SURF, which continues its rookie season with the fall finale, Monday, Nov. 18 at 9 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, is set on what is alleged to be the most dangerous coastline in the world, the North Shore of O’ahu, Hawaii. And yet every day, people willingly venture into the water for surfing or swimming or whatever, and your lifeguard character and her colleagues are tasked with saving lives when the inevitable problems arise. Not to hold you responsible for human behaviour, but what’s up with that? Wouldn’t it be a lot safer if everyone just stayed out of the damn water, knowing how treacherous it is at that particular spot? What the heck are we doing here? “I wonder all the time what we’re doing!” said Kebbel, with a big laugh, during a recent visit to Bell Media headquarters in Toronto. “It’s a great question, and I think our show highlights that,” continued Kebbel, who plays Ocean Safety Lifeguard Lieutenant Emily “Em” Wright. “Matt Kester, our creator, lives on the North Shore, and there are a lot of moments in the show that highlight tourists coming there. Or even if they’re not tourists, they’re people who say, ‘oh, I’m comfortable in the water, I know what I’m doing.’ And they’ll walk right past the signs that say, ‘danger, strong currents, stay out of the water today,’ and go straight into the ocean. That’s what our show is about. It’s about putting up the warning signs, watching people do it anyways, and then running out and saving them when they’re in danger.” But it’s bizarre, isn’t it? “It’s a fascinating thing, because lifeguards are adrenaline seekers in a way – it’s honestly part of the job,” Kebbel said. “But I feel like anyone who enters that seven-mile radius of the North Shore is also, on some level, an adrenaline seeker, because the water and the waves there are like nowhere else in the world. I felt that power first-hand, and I see how easy it is to get sucked out in a rip current, even at ankle-deep water. Why do we do this? I don’t have the answer. But I know that lifeguards were born because of the choices we make in the water.” Kebbel’s Em is certainly a born lifeguard, but there’s a lot of other stuff going on in her life, too. On the professional front, she’s up for a big promotion, but if she gets the job it’s going to mean forging completely different relationships with her co-workers, not all of whom are necessarily convinced that she has the right personality for the extra responsibility. Romantically, Em and her ex-boyfriend/fellow lifeguard Will Ready, played by Adam Demos, still work together closely, and their feelings for each other are clearly not over, despite the fact that he’s now engaged to another woman. “Look, Em is flawed, just like any other human being – and I promise, you’re going to see all those flaws as the season goes on,” said Kebbel, whose lengthy acting resume includes roles in series such as HBO’s BALLERS (available on Crave), 90210, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, and GILMORE GIRLS. “In the past, I’ve had the pleasure of also playing a police officer, a detective, a firefighter, and so on. And for all those first-responder roles, when I’ve interviewed people and done research, a very real, consistent part of the discussion is always about how close you get to your partner.” As Kebbel pointed out, while first responders have to trust their partners with their lives, usually they’re not romantic partners – at least, not initially. “So what does that relationship look like?” Kebbel asked. “What do you share with your partner at home versus your partner in the workspace? It’s hard to draw boundaries, especially when you’ve been through life-threatening situations together, and come out on top. There’s such a bonding there, because it’s the adrenaline of saving someone. But then, unfortunately, there’s also the grief of the opposite, which bonds you as well. Em and Will work in close quarters. They know each other better than anyone. So why wouldn’t they get together? Well, this season, we’ll find out all the reasons why they work as a couple, and why they don’t.” One thing that’s definitely working for Kebbel are the working conditions for RESCUE: HI-SURF. “I just about fell out of my chair when (executive producer) John Wells looked at us and said, ‘there’ll be no night shoots,’ because in my 20 years of doing this … I couldn’t even speak,” Kebbel recalled. “The thing about Hawaii that’s interesting is, it’s sun-up to sundown. But he also said, ‘we are going to ask a lot of you. We won’t be pausing for hair and makeup. We won’t have fancy lighting setups. This is the real deal. You’re in the elements. That’s what we want to see. We want to see the rain, we want to see the wind, we want to see the water.’ ” All of which suits Kebbel just fine. “I’ve always been a nature gal, but I’ve never had a job that put me in nature so much,” she said. “In the mornings, there would be sea turtles and monk seals, and you’re working around whales and sharks, and to just really take that in, and look back at the mountains when you’re filming out in the water, it’s a powerful experience. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would get a show that speaks to my spirit the way this one has.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv