Is Below Deck Mediterranean scripted? That’s the question fans are asking amid the Season 5 drama.
The Bravo show’s authenticity is under fire after viewers called out too many incidents that feel scripted and planned.
From the moment Bugsy Drake was brought in to replace second stew Lara Flumiani, fans began to question whether or not Below Deck Med is real. It seemed odd that Bugsy would be okay to come back as second stew and work under Hannah Ferrier after their disastrous relationship during Season 2.
Then, there was the perfectly timed visit of Malia White’s chef boyfriend, Tom Checketts, as he replaced the newly fired chef Kiko Loran. It seemed a little too convenient that Captain Sandy Yawn let Kiko go right before Tom was scheduled to visit Malia.
Hannah Ferrier being fired, was deemed a planned plot of the season by fans as well. Viewers felt that once Bugsy was brought in that it meant the end of Hannah on the Bravo show.
Is Below Deck Med scripted?
Bravo’s Vice President of Current Production, Josh Brown, addressed fan accusations about Below Deck Mediterranean being scripted on The Daily Dish podcast.
It should come as no surprise that Josh is claiming the Bravo show is not scripted, planned out, or set up in any way. He used Hannah’s firing as an example of trying to prove his point.
“One misconception I really want to try and address is, I see on social media that there’s this perception that Hannah’s firing was somehow scripted, and that is a hundred percent not the case,” he said. “We’re really upset to see Hannah go in this way in the middle of the season, you know?”
Josh also reiterated that Hannah leaving was nothing more than Captain Sandy Yawn and Bravo following maritime law.
Not plants or casting onto the boat
The Bravo executive also made it clear the yachties are cast for experience by the network and Captain Sandy Yawn. There are no plants for story purposes. Below Deck Med crew members are picked based on their experience.
“Nobody is being cast onto the boat. These are the type of people that Captain Sandy would want to work with, who Captain Sandy would feel like has the right experience for this size boat and these type of charters,” Josh stated.
Bravo has been putting out a lot of fires with the current season of Below Deck Mediterranean. The network and producers have been giving more interviews than usual to deflect the negative publicity.
Executive producer Nadine Rajabi insists Tom joining the show was not premeditated, nor was Kiko leaving. Nadine claims Tom saved the show after a female chef backed out at the last minute. She also declared that Bugsy was not hired to replace Hannah, and there were initially two other second stews hired, but those fell through.
So, is Below Deck Med scripted? Let’s be honest, all reality television is a little bit scripted. It all comes down to what fans believe.
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.
I hate when the producers say the captain picks the crew based on experience. There have been SEVERAL seasons where the cast was green, especially green deckhands that had a very hard time picking it up. I have a very hard time believing that they couldn’t find THREE very experienced deckhands/stews to be on the show. Out of all the yachties in the world!!