Below Deck Season 11 is right around the corner, and it has big shoes to fill. For almost the entirety of Below Deck, fans watched their beloved Captain Lee Rosbach take charge around the yacht. After Captain Lee’s retirement due to health issues, Captain Kerry Titheradge will be taking his place. Will he be able to live up to Captain Lee’s legacy?
Fraser Olender will be one of the only returning cast members, and will reprise his role as Chief Stew. He will be joined by fellow stews Cat Baugh, Barbie Pascual, and Xandi Olivier. Anthony Iracane will make his debut as Chef, and will hopefully be able to meet all of the guests culinary needs.
In terms of the deck team, Jared Woodin will be appearing on Below Deck for the first time as a Bosun. Ben Willoughby will return as Lead Deckhand, and he will be joined by Sunny Marquis and Kyle Stillie.
Season 11 has a lot to live up to, as previous seasons of Below Deck have been pretty great. With a new Captain and a lot of new crew members, that may be a challenge.
Captain Kerry Is Not Captain Lee
Don’t get me wrong, I like Captain Kerry. He was arguably the only likable cast member on Below Deck Adventure, where he first displayed his great Captain skills. Since it does not seem like Below Deck Adventure will be getting renewed anytime soon, it is nice to see Captain Kerry get another chance on the OG series.
Unfortunately for Captain Kerry, Captain Lee was the most beloved of the Below Deck captains. Known for his wicked sense of humor and fierce leadership skills, there was simply never a dull moment with Captain Lee. While Captain Kerry is a likable guy, his personality is very mellow and easygoing compared to Captain Lee. He is not bad by any means, but he is just not as iconic as Captain Lee.
Below Deck fans were also just very familiar with Captain Lee. He led the series for ten seasons straight, and has had the longest run of any Below Deck Captain so far. A lot of Below Deck fans could not get into Below Deck Adventure, so many of them are not yet familiar with Captain Kerry. This is a big change, and it will be difficult for Captain Kerry to live up to the name of his predecessor.
The Trailer Is Chaotic, And Not In A Good Way
Below Deck trailers always give us a good idea of what to expect during the season, and the Season 11 trailer is no exception. Of course, any good season trailer features a few chaotic moments to promise viewers much-anticipated drama. The Below Deck Season 11 trailer on the other hand, was nothing but chaotic. And not in a good way.
Fraser is one of only two returning cast members this season. The Chief Stew was mostly likable during Seasons 9 and 10, but Season 11 is already looking messy for him. The trailer shows Fraser making some critical mistakes onboard, such as kissing a charter guest. Every Below Deck fan knows that this is a line that should never be crossed, as it makes things awkward for everyone involved.
Apart from his personal endeavors, it seems like Fraser will have a hard time keeping positive relationships with his fellow crew members. The trailer foreshadows a fight between Fraser and Ben, where Ben snaps that more people on the interior have been let go as opposed to the deck team. Later on in the trailer, Fraser is also shown having an intervention with Captain Kerry, who looks pretty mad.
While the trailer only gave us a three minute insight, so far it does not seem like there will be any crew members worth rooting for apart from Captain Kerry. This is already giving me bad Below Deck Adventure flashbacks. Chef Anthony doesn’t know how to cook steaks, the Stews and Deckhands get into messy boatmances, and the Deck Team seems inexperienced. Oh boy.
So Can Below Deck Season 11 Live Up To Prior Seasons?
I don’t want to make any premature assumptions, but from everything we know so far it seems like the answer is no. Once again, Captain Kerry seems to be the only likable crew member this season, which is a problem. Of course, we can only get so much from a trailer, so I could be totally wrong. For the sake of all us Below Deck fans, I hope Season 11 surprises us and comes out as one of the series best seasons yet!
TELL US – ARE YOU EXCITED FOR BELOW DECK SEASON 11? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE TRAILER?
