Below Deck is one of the most beloved franchises on Bravo, but I’m convinced that the shows are staged, with the drama between the crew members being more fake than real. Originally premiering in 2016, Below Deck was one of the first series of its kind, showing the realities of the lives of superyacht crew members during an intense charter season. With the original series headed up by Captain Lee Rosbach and featuring memorable faces like Chief Stew Kate Chastain, the series was an immediate hit, and a spin-off, Below Deck Mediterranean, premiered in the same year as the original.
After Below Deck and Below Deck Mediterranean brought in a tremendous number of viewers, the franchise wound up expanding further with the addition of Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Below Deck Adventure, and Below Deck Down Under. With the franchise so widely expanded, new captains, yachties, and charter guests became commonplace for the audience, who got to know the new personalities. With so many shows, some of the drama on the various series seemed to be a bit more fabricated than others. After watching many of the Below Deck franchise shows for years, I believe the drama tends to be staged.
Below Deck Crew Drama Can Feel Forced & Fake
It Doesn’t Always Appear Natural
While the drama on Below Deck can be a fun part of the series, it can feel fake in some circumstances. Throughout Below Deck’s history, massive fights, falling outs, flings, and firings have caused the crew members to snap at each other, grow hostile, or even lash out. While there have been some moments when the Below Deck crews are genuinely having issues with one another, some of the drama on the series can feel forced, fake, or put upon. With the Below Deck crew members already dealing with enough, the reality TV drama can be too much to handle.
As Below Deck has become more popularized and spread out into separate shows throughout the franchise, the drama within each series has become more specific. Below Deck and Below Deck Mediterranean have more crew-based drama, with yachties who struggle to fulfill their duties in their position. Below Deck Adventure faced more elemental issues, drama that stemmed from activities not being able to go as planned due to weather or other natural phenomena. Below Deck Down Under and Below Deck Sailing Yacht deal with more interpersonal issues, with the crew members seemingly forming more intense, romantic bonds in each charter season.
With each series in the Below Deck franchise having specific drama, it usually doesn’t feel too surprising to see things unfold from show to show. While this may simply be the luck of the draw, I believe it has more to do with the way that the shows are produced. The Below Deck producers have found which formula works for which series, meaning the drama from season to season has more of a production hand in it than a natural decompression. Overall, the drama tends to be more formulaic, which points to production interference within the show’s general dramatic storylines.
Below Deck Charters Are Nothing Like Real Superyacht Charters
The Prep Time And Scheduling Are Far Different
Although Below Deck charters do function similarly to standard superyacht charters, there are many differences in the way superyachts are set up and scheduled when there’s no reality TV element to account for. Below Deck’s charters have to be far more specific because of the way they’re accommodating a reality TV crew along with the yachties and the charter guests, which is understandable, but they also seem to be set up for the yachties to fail at their jobs. I believe that Below Deck charters are scheduled out in a way that puts more pressure on the captains and crew.
The charters on each Below Deck series are organized in such a way that they don’t actually reflect traditional superyacht charter seasons. Compressing all of the season into a few week stint makes it impossible for the yachties to keep up with the work they have to do to keep the charter season running smoothly and take care of themselves all at once. Yachties have to cut corners or give up their personal time, which would allow them to potentially decompress and deal with their stress levels, in order to keep up with the pace of a Below Deck charter.
Below Deck Doesn’t Always Choose Capable Crew Members For The Cast
Crew Members Aren’t Only Assessed For Their Skills
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Although the crew members that make it aboard Below Deck vessels typically have some sort of qualifications to work aboard a superyacht, the series doesn’t always cast the most capable crew members. It’s been explained throughout the run of Below Deck that the captains aboard each vessel get some say in who their crew will be comprised of, but the casting team behind the series isn’t simply looking for yachties who will be good in a storm. Instead, they’re looking for semi-qualified yachties who will bring some element of drama aboard the superyacht, which will hopefully make for better TV.
Although it makes sense that reality TV casting professionals would be looking for people who will make good reality TV personalities, the fact that they likely forego more qualified candidates and instead choose people who have more outwardly fun personalities is a tough pill to swallow. Generally, some of the drama that comes from a yachtie being underqualified could be negated with the captain having more say in who makes up their crew. While the practice isn’t the worst, I believe it does create a disconnect from reality when the best candidates for the job aren’t the ones being chosen.
Below Deck Captains Have To Do Things For The Sake Of Drama
Some Of Their Outbursts Aren’t Genuine
Although the captains of Below Deck aren’t typically the main attraction of the shows, they often have to step in to help the story along or have discussions with crew members about the state of what’s happening aboard a superyacht. Sometimes, the captains are urged to take action for the sake of drama. For example, Captain Sandy Yawn reprimanding Malia White in Below Deck Med season 6 was a moment that production pushed, rather than a natural occurrence. I believe Below Deck has been staging moments like this for the sake of drama consistently, and will continue to do so.
