‘Below Deck Mediterranean’ Producers Scramble To Justify Season 5
It’s rare for the producers of Below Deck Mediterranean to speak out about the show. But Season 5 brought the drama, on and off the series. Now, producers are scrambling to explain the drama that unfolded this season. Viewers didn’t like it when Captain Sandy Yawn fired both chef Hindrigo “Kiko” Lorran and chief stew Hannah Ferrier.
They feel that it was all a setup. Bosun Malia White’s boyfriend, Tom Checketts, became the new chef. Meanwhile, Christine “Bugsy” Drake was promoted as the new chief stew. While the producers normally stay behind the scenes, some of them are speaking out about the drama that unfolded during last Monday night’s episode.
Below Deck Mediterranean producer claims chef Tom Checketts was not a plant
Executive producer Nadine Rajabi was one of the Below Deck Mediterranean producers who spoke out recently. On the Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast, she revealed that a female chef was supposed to come in and take over for chef Kiko.
“This was not a setup,” Nadine said on the podcast. “I Know it looked like it, I promise you it wasn’t. And [Christine] Bugsy [Drake] as well. There were two other second stews that were lined up and they both fell through. So that was a last-minute thing.”
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Tom only planned to visit Malia before Kiko left. The original plans to hire a female chef fell through. Nadine explained that the crew was left with only hours to find a chef before the next charter. Sandy hoped that Tom would take over the remaining two weeks of the charter season. Despite the producer’s claims, this was not mentioned in the latest episode.
The producer explained that no one expected Kiko to leave. Also, his hiring was tough on everyone, including Sandy herself. And there were things that he forgot, such as the crew meals. So, Tom came in at the right time.
Producers discuss Hannah Ferrier’s emotional goodbye
This season of Below Deck Mediterranean was the last for Hannah Ferrier. It was also one of her toughest seasons yet. She had to navigate how to work with her new stews and stay on Sandy’s good side. Producers told The Daily Dish that Hannah was very emotional over Kiko’s firing. The two became good friends throughout the season.
“Hannah’s the type of person, I think, where the emotions can just kind of bubble up, I would say, without her even realizing it,” said Josh Brown, Vice President, Current Production at Bravo.”
On the Below Deck Med After Show, Nadine explained that Hannah’s friendship with Kiko, paired with his firing, that affected the chief stew.
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“You know, it was hard to see. It was really hard to see, because Hannah is very much an empath, and she cares a lot and has a very big heart,” Nadine explained. “And so that was the one person in the crew that she really connected with.”
Hannah previously explained that she “was in such a bad place” during Season 5. She said she couldn’t escape the stressful work environment. And then she found herself without Kiko by her side.
But it looks like the producers of Below Deck Mediterranean are scrambling to explain all the drama that went down. Nadine tried to explain the reason for Hannah’s firing on Vanity Fair. However, viewers are only seeing one side of the story. They still don’t have the entire story behind Hannah and Kiko’s firings, and that’s a problem.
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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