Fired Below Deck Med star Peter Hunziker was not edited out of the show on Monday — and Monsters and Critics has the official word from Bravo on whether the deckhand will be on the remainder of the current season.
The show’s most recent episode featured Peter a lot more than viewers anticipated following the network giving him the ax last week.
As fans know, a racist post was the cause of Peter getting fired. Even his weak attempt to defend his racist Instagram post failed to save Peter from the chopping block.
Just another episode
A previous statement from Bravo and production company 51 Minds said Peter would be edited out to minimize his appearance in Below Deck Mediterranean Season 5.
However, Peter was prominent on the show this week. It was just another episode full of stew drama, sexist remarks, a crew hookup, and a night out full of entertaining events.
The fired deckhand was a focus during Captain Sandy Yawn’s lecture on the men calling Malia “sweetie.” Peter was also featured playing and taking care of Roy Orbison Jr’s kids.
Although he only had one confessional, in which he talked about his son, it was more Peter than viewers expected.
Will he be featured for the rest of the season?
There are a couple of reasons why Peter was not as edited out as fans imagined he would be.
First, his firing was only days away from a new episode airing. It would have been challenging for the network to eliminate him considering there were two continuing stories from the previous episode.
Pete acting like he didn’t know who was saying sweetie…. #BelowDeckMed #BelowDeckMediterranean pic.twitter.com/RH0an0i517
— Molly Dale (@molly_dale16) June 23, 2020
Suddenly having Peter be MIA from the captain’s talk or hanging with the kids would not be the easiest editing job. He was, after all, the reason Captain Sandy called the male deckhands to the bridge.
Second, revamping the show and stories will take some time. The producers have to figure out a new angle.
Peter and his sexist ways were definitely going to be a pivotal story this season. So, not only does it require physically editing him out but replacing the footage with something as equally juicy and entertaining.
Last but not least, the network never said he was being eliminated from the show — just that his role would be minimized.
Bravo has now confirmed to Monsters and Critics in a statement that “Pete’s appearance will be minimized in the back half of the season.”
So to answer the question, yes, fired Below Deck Med star Peter Hunziker will still be featured on the show — but his role will be minimized for the second half of the season once producers have had a chance to edit him out.
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.