Below Deck

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For the first season, producers booked a five-week Caribbean charter in Sint Maarten on the 164-foot (50 m) yacht Cuor di Leone.^[4] The yacht was renamed Honor for the purposes of filming, and was captained by Capt. Lee Rosbach.^[4] The original crew used for the vessel were given the time off, to be replaced by the cast of the series for the duration of filming.^[4] Rosbach and his first officer and engineer stayed on board the vessel to ensure everything went as planned.^[4] Chief stewardess Adrienne Gang, chef Ben Robinson and stewardess Kat Held had worked on yachts prior to the series.^[4] The series was shot over a six-week period in September and October 2011.^[5]

On August 27, 2013, Bravo announced that the series' first season averaged 1.4 million total viewers per episode. These figures led the network to renew Below Deck for a second season.^[6] The second season premiered on August 12, 2014,^[7] and featured four returning cast members from the previous season: Captain^[8] Lee Rosbach, Ben Robinson, Kat Held and Eddie Lucas.^[9] New cast additions included Kate Chastain, siblings Kelley and Amy Johnson, Jennice Ontiveros, Andrew Sturby, and Logan Reese.^[9] The second season had the crew working on Ohana,^[10] a 153-foot (47 m) yacht, during the charter season in the British Virgin Islands.^[9] The season concluded on November 4, 2014.^[7]

Bravo renewed Below Deck for a third season after the second season finale, which was the highest rated episode of the season.^[11] In March 2015, Bravo announced a Below Deck spin-off show entitled Below Deck Mediterranean, which would feature a crew heading to "the world's oldest cruising grounds, the Mediterranean Sea, for its next superyacht charter season."^[12]

The third season premiered on August 25, 2015. The season followed crew members living and working in the Bahamas on a 161-foot (49 m) yacht called Eros. A sneak peek of the season was released on July 21, with a half-hour preview special which aired on August 10, 2015. The season featured Lee Rosbach, Kate Chastain, Amy Johnson and Eddie Lucas who all returned from the previous season, along with another five new crew members.^[13]

In April 2016, the network renewed Below Deck for a fourth season which was filmed in the US Virgin Islands.^[14]

On February 21, 2017, Bravo announced that production filming for season 5 had begun.^[15] On July 17, 2017, it was announced that the fifth season would premiere on September 5, 2017, with Lee Rosbach, Kate Chastain, and Nico Scholly returning. The series was filmed in Sint Maarten.^[16][17]

The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2018 and was filmed in Tahiti, French Polynesia. Lee Rosbach and Kate Chastain returned.^[18][19] In season 6 episode 11, Ashton Pienaar had a close brush with death when he got a tow line wrapped around his leg and was dragged into the water between the yacht My Seanna,^[20] which was underway, and the vessel's tender. The show's cameraman Brent Freeburg was able to save Ashton by freeing the tow line. If he had not completely freed the line, the tension between the vessel and the tender would have pulled it tight around Ashton's leg and severed his foot; he could have bled to death in seconds. Rosbach instituted strict procedures to keep this from happening again.^[21]

In March 2019, Bravo announced a new spin-off, Below Deck Sailing Yacht. The show follows a crew sailing aboard the sailing yacht, Parsifal III, as they cater to charter guests in Greece.^{[22][23][24][25]} On December 18, 2019, it was announced that the spin-off series would premiere on February 3, 2020.^[26]

On August 26, 2019, it was announced that the seventh season would premiere on October 7, 2019. Lee Rosbach, Kate Chastain, and Ashton Pienaar returned as crew members. The series was filmed in Phuket, Thailand.^[27]

On September 21, 2020, it was announced that the eighth season would premiere on November 2, 2020.^[28] Lee Rosbach and Eddie Lucas returned. The series was filmed in Antigua. The season was curtailed after the final two charters were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May 2021, Peacock ordered a new spin-off, Below Deck Down Under. The series followed the upstairs and downstairs of a super-yacht in Australia.^[29] The series premiered on March 17, 2022.^[30]

On August 19, 2021, Bravo announced that a ninth season would premiere on October 25, 2021. The season again featured the yacht My Seanna, and was filmed in St. Kitts.^[31]

On May 12, 2022, Bravo announced the renewal of Below Deck and Below Deck Mediterranean, and also announced that a new spin-off, titled Below Deck Adventure, would premiere in late 2022.^[32]

On November 3, 2023, it was announced that the eleventh season would premiere on February 5, 2024.^[33]

In May 2026, the series was renewed for a thirteenth season.^[34]

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Timeline

More information Cast Members, Seasons ...

Cast Members	Seasons
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
David Bradberry	Deckhand		Deckhand
Adrienne Gang	Chief Stew	Guest
Kat Held	2nd Stew
C.J. LeBeau	2nd Engineer
Eddie Lucas	Lead Deckhand	Bosun						Bosun/First Officer
Samantha Orme	3rd Stew
Ben Robinson	Chef
Lee Rosbach	Captain
Aleks Taldykin	First Officer
Kate Chastain		Chief Stew
Amy Johnson		3rd Stew	2nd Stew	Guest
Kelley Johnson		2nd Engineer/Deckhand	Guest	Bosun
Jennice Ontiveros		Deckhand
Logan Reese		Deckhand
Andrew Sturby		Deckhand
Don Abenante			2nd Engineer/Deckhand
Connie Arias			Deckhand
Raquel "Rocky" Dakota			3rd Stew
Dane Jackson			Deckhand
Emile Kotze			Deckhand
Leon Walker			Chef
Lauren Burchell				Deckhand
Kyle Dixon				Deckhand
Nico Scholly				Deckhand	Lead Deckhand/Bosun
Sierra Storm				3rd Stew
Trevor Walker				Lead Deckhand
Emily Warburton-Adams				2nd Stew
Brianna Adekeye					2nd Stew
Chris Brown					Deckhand
Matt Burns					Chef
Bruno Duarte					Deckhand
Jennifer Howell					3rd Stew
EJ Jansen					Bosun
Baker Manning					Deckhand
Caroline Bedol						3rd Stew
Laura Betancourt						3rd Stew
Chandler Brooks						Bosun
Josiah Carter						2nd Stew
Rhylee Gerber						Deckhand
Ross Inia						Deckhand/Bosun
Adrian Martin						Chef
Ashton Pienaar						Deckhand	Bosun
Tyler Rowland						Deckhand
Kevin Dobson							Chef
Simone Mashile							2nd Stew
Abbi Murphy							Deckhand
Brian de Saint Pern							Deckhand
Courtney Skippon							3rd/2nd Stew
Tanner Sterback							Deckhand
Shane Coopersmith								Deckhand
Elizabeth Frankini								2nd/3rd Stew
Rachel Hargrove								Chef
James Hough								Deckhand
Ashling Lorger								3rd/2nd Stew
Robert Phillips								Deckhand
Francesca Rubi								Chief Stew
Avery Russell								Deckhand
Isabelle "Izzy" Wouters								Stew/Deckhand/Lead Deckhand
Jessica Albert									3rd Stew
Heather Chase									Chief Stew
Jake Foulger									Deckhand/Lead Deckhand
Rayna Lindsey									Deckhand
Sean Meagher									Captain
Kaylee Milligan									3rd Stew
Wes O'Dell									Deckhand
Fraser Olender									2nd Stew	Chief Stew
Hayley De Sola Pinto										3rd Stew
Luis Antonio "Tony" Duarte										Deckhand
Katie Glaser										Deckhand
Alissa Humber										2nd Stew
Camille Lamb										Deckhand/Stew	Guest
Ross McHarg										Bosun
Leigh-Ann Smith										2nd Stew
Tyler Walker										Deckhand/Stew
Ben Willoughby										Deckhand/Lead Deckhand	Lead Deckhand/Bosun
Sandra "Sandy" Yawn										Captain
Cat Baugh											Stew
Dylan De Villiers											Deckhand
Paris Field									Guest		Stew
Anthony Iracane											Chef
Marie "Sunny" Marquis											Deckhand/Lead Deckhand
Xandi Olivier											2nd Stew
Barbie Pascual											Stew
Kyle Stillie											Deckhand
Nick Tatlock											Chef
Kerry Titheradge											Captain
Jared Woodin											Bosun
Solène Favreau												Stew
Barbara Kulaif												Stew
Hugo Ortega												Bosun
Caio Poltronieri												Bosun
Rainbeau de Roos												2nd Stew
Lawrence Snowden												Chef
Jess Theron												Lead Deckhand
Damo Yorg												Deckhand

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The reality show has received mixed reviews from television critics.^[75] David Hinckley from the New York Daily News gave a negative review, remarking that Bravo "make[s] waves with reality series set on a luxury yacht, but viewers aren't well served by a show that's anchored in tedium." Reviewing the first episode of the show, he was not impressed by the lack of storylines and called the premiere "pretty mundane".^[76] Emily Yahr, a critic from The Washington Post, questioned the show's truthfulness and added that the series "seem[s] so scripted—the stereotypical spoiled crew members, the neatly wrapped-up “plotlines”—that it's hard to take seriously, even in the dubious cable reality show genre."^[77] Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was more positive by describing the show as a "fairly entertaining, voyeuristic look at a made-for-reality-TV crew."^[78]

David Wiegand, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, noted the show's idea by saying that Below Deck "takes the idea of disparate types thrown together in a controlled environment and capitalizes on two seemingly inevitable results: friction and sexual tension".^[79] Neil Genzlinger from The New York Times criticized the casting choices, writing that "the real issue with this series is that the crew members aren't all that interesting." He also felt that "it's not actually the crew members—the stars of this series—who are unbearable" but the guests, for whom "the word “insufferable” was invented."^[80] Sandy Malone, writing for The Huffington Post in September 2014, questioned whether the show is hurting the yachting industry. Malone said, "My conclusion, if this show is going to do positive things for the yachting industry, instead of destroying its reputation for stellar service, a big change had better come with [the upcoming season]."^[81]

Ratings

Below Deck : U.S. viewers per episode (millions)

More information Season, Episode number ...

Season		Episode number																				Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
	1	1.08	1.23	1.17	1.32	1.34	1.43	1.40	1.55	1.75	1.24	0.91	–									1.31
	2	1.06	0.85	0.89	0.96	1.14	1.23	1.08	1.13	1.19	1.13	1.43	0.83	0.98	–							1.07
	3	1.08	1.03	1.14	1.12	1.11	1.12	1.27	1.17	1.28	1.46	1.47	1.48	1.72	1.25	1.29	–					1.27
	4	1.41	1.37	1.11	1.44	1.41	1.56	1.52	1.31	1.46	1.27	1.46	1.45	1.53	1.42	–						1.41
	5	1.32	0.97	1.25	1.16	1.25	1.36	1.34	1.28	1.20	1.30	1.39	1.30	1.46	1.56	0.90	–					1.27
	6	1.27	1.21	1.22	1.39	1.39	1.32	1.35	1.40	1.67	1.81	2.11	1.64	1.45	0.53	1.61	1.69	1.24	–			1.43
	7	1.41	1.38	1.43	1.50	1.53	1.43	1.55	1.49	1.66	1.69	1.68	1.39	1.72	1.58	1.71	1.72	1.74	1.75	1.59	1.20	1.56
	8	1.20	1.40	1.46	1.37	1.38	1.47	1.55	1.61	1.56	1.56	1.60	1.67	1.55	1.59	1.47	1.65	1.22	–			1.49
	9	1.36	1.26	1.20	1.40	1.18	1.21	1.22	1.32	1.25	1.21	1.27	1.26	1.34	1.29	–						1.27
	10	0.85	0.92	0.85	0.80	1.18	0.98	1.08	1.10	1.26	1.20	1.15	1.09	1.26	1.12	1.16	1.07	1.14	–			1.07
	11	0.82	0.83	0.73	0.82	0.72	0.74	0.76	0.74	0.78	0.75	0.74	0.77	0.80	0.76	0.75	0.89	0.83	–			0.78
	12	0.57	0.61	0.61	0.62	0.60	0.59	0.64	0.55	0.56	0.64	0.75	0.69	0.63	0.56	0.60	0.59	–				0.61

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Audience measurement performed by Nielsen Media Research^[82][83]

Below Deck premiered on the Bravo cable network in the United States; the first episode debuted on Monday at 10:00/9:00 ET/PT on July 1, 2013. The preview special of the series aired on June 10, 2013.^[84] The first season ran for eleven episodes and concluded on September 9, 2013. The second season of the reality series debuted on August 12, 2014 and ended on November 4, 2014, after airing thirteen episodes. Both seasons featured a "Reunion" episode that reunited all the crew members to discuss the events of the season, as well as a special episode, "The Crew Tells All" with unseen footage of the season. The third season premiered on August 25, 2015 and concluded on December 1, 2015 with a two-part "Reunion" episode. Season 4 premiered on September 6, 2016 and concluded on December 6, 2016. The fifth season premiered on September 5, 2017 and concluded on December 5, 2017 with a "Reunion" episode airing on December 12, 2017. Season 6 premiered on October 2, 2018 and concluded on January 29, 2019 with a "Reunion" episode airing on February 5, 2019.

Both Below Deck and Below Deck Mediterranean appeared on the Canadian E! network for the first five seasons. For these seasons, the Canadian E! network would often air the seasons in the same time slot as in the US, however not all seasons followed the Bravo US schedule. Starting in season 6, Below Deck and Below Deck Mediterranean were picked up by the Canadian Slice network and all shows aired in the identical time slot as in the US on Bravo. Although Canadians have access to both networks, Bravo US and Bravo Canada (not the same ownership), Below Deck has never aired on Bravo Canada. The two shows have a faithful viewing audience in Canada – especially since season 5 when Canadians started to appear on the show as part of the crew. Canadians appearing on the show have included Matt Burns from Ottawa, Ontario as the chef in season 5 and Courtney Skippon from British Columbia as the third stewardess in season 7.

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