While the events of 2020 may have more people foregoing travel plans and staying at home than usual, Bravo viewers can get a fix of luxury on the Caribbean with the upcoming eighth season of Below Deck. That said, two members of the Season 8 crew have spoken out about the behavior of the male stars during Season 7. Captain Lee Rosbach and bosun Eddie Lucas didn't mince words.
Captain Lee Rosbach (who suffered a personal tragedy last year) was actually part of Below Deck Season 7 and therefore on the show while bosun Ashton Pienaar, deckhand Tanner Sterback, lead deckhand Brian de Saint Pern, and chef Kevin Dobson -- a.k.a. the "bru crew" -- engaged in behavior so toxic that female stars were left in tears during the season. Rosbach told Metro that he only found out about the bru crew's behavior when he watched Below Deck Season 7, then said:
I was actually quite appalled by their behavior. I found it extremely distasteful and I let everyone know immediately this year what I expected. And if I even caught a hint of that type of behaviour happening, somebody’s ass would belong to me.
No member of the "bru crew" is returning for Season 8 of Below Deck, so Captain Lee Rosbach won't need to keep an eye on them in particular. The trailer for the eighth season reveals that he's going to be plenty hard on his new crew, so they might not stick with all of his expectations. Still, hopefully any rule-breaking won't involve toxic behavior between crew members.
One member of the Season 8 crew who will be working under Captain Lee Rosbach is a returning star, although he hasn't been around since back in Season 3. Eddie Lucas will be back and serving as bosun, and that announcement caused some waves due to the circumstances of his departure, when it was revealed that he was cheating on his on-land girlfriend with a Below Deck stewardess.
Eddie Lucas also weighed in on the toxic behavior of the male stars in Season 7, saying:
A lot of what I’ve seen… I haven’t watched all the seasons, but I definitely caught up on a few of them, and a lot of what I’ve seen is absolutely not okay behavior. If I even saw an inkling of it, I would shut it down immediately. I would be very adamant that everybody is due respect that they earned and that they deserved. That’s super, super important to me.
Eddie Lucas admitted to not seeing all of the seasons of Below Deck, and he was not part of the Bravo show's crew for four seasons between Season 3 and the upcoming Season 8. His thoughts on toxic behavior line up with Captain Lee Rosbach's, so it's possible that Rosbach and Lucas could run a very tight ship, both literally and figuratively, in Season 8. Maybe Below Deck will deliver some good escapism without the toxicity of Season 7!
That said, Season 8 can only be escapism to a certain extent. The trailer for the new season also reveals that the crew will learn about the COVID-19 pandemic, and things definitely won't be the same. That's not to say that there won't be any shenanigans and classic Bravo melodrama on the beautiful blue water, but fans should probably expect something other than business as usual by the end of Season 8.
Find out how Season 8 compares to Season 7 with the Below Deck premiere on Monday, November 2 at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. Below Deck is only one of many shows returning to the airwaves this month, and you can find more options on our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule. If streaming is more your style, be sure to take a look at our 2020 Netflix premiere schedule.
