I’ve always loved reality TV but, I’ve always been reluctant to get into a reality TV show that wasn’t The Bachelor (or one of its spinoffs) or Keeping Up with the Kardashians. One of my best friends would always force us to watch some random show called Below Deck when I went over to her house and I would roll my eyes because it just wasn’t my show. One night, I was on my laptop browsing the “live TV” section of Hulu—which, by the way, everyone should totally check out because it’s awesome—and lo and behold, an episode of Below Deck was on so, I decided to click on it. From that moment on, I was hooked. Here’s why you will be too:
1. The show follows the crew members of a mega-yacht that people can stay on for around 3 nights.
The guests are referred to as “charters,” and they pay a lot of money to stay on the yacht for just a couple nights, and the crew waits on them hand and foot for the entirety of the stay. Camera crews follow the crew around so viewers get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to satisfy the charter guests.
2. It’s a co-ed crew, and they’re around the same age, so there’s coupling up and couples drama galore.
Of the season I’ve been watching, Below Deck: Mediterranean, there’s one strong couple who actually have about a 10-year age difference, but somehow make their relationship work amongst all of the work craziness. There’s been recoupling, heartbreak when love interests pair off with someone else, and general couples drama.
3. Since the crew members live together in teeny quarters for the whole yachting season, they get sick of each other, and complain about how everyone’s working. Enter drama part TWO.
In the season I’m watching, it seems like everyone has a problem with Hannah, the lead stewardess, who constantly gets into fights with Adam, the head chef. Connor, the lead deckhand, feels like Joao, the second deckhand, is trying to act like the lead deckhand. Captain Sandy runs a tight ship and hates when anything doesn’t go according to plan.
4. The yacht itself is HUGE, so it’s fun to get a constant tour of something I can never go on.
Honestly, good luck finding a yacht as big as this one. It has multiple bedrooms, including a master bedroom, bathrooms, a lounge area, huge storage for WATER toys, and a sizeable kitchen.
5. Yacht guests are some of the richest people ever, and they have some of the craziest, bizarre requests.
There was one charter guest who hated any kind of seafood (even though he was on a yacht?). Another guest absolutely hated onions and didn’t want them anywhere on the boat. And you can’t forget the guest who requested that the crew members all participate in a “trust exercise.”
6. Basically, you’ll finish each season with the same thought: get me on that yacht.
Get ready for the most exciting, drama-filled reality TV binge you never know you needed. You can thank me later!
Watch Below Deck on Hulu.
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