Do Below Deck Sailing Yacht Crew Members Have Any Privacy? Here's What Producers Have to Say
Go behind the scenes with producers as they reveal how the camera crew goes about filming the Parsifal III yachties.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht leaves no stone unturned when it comes to capturing the lives of the Parsifal III crew. At least that's what it seems like when cameras are not only documenting major moments on deck like the dock crash but also intimate chats between crew members on the bow and late-night cuddle sessions in cabins.
In fact, Below Deck as a whole has greatly expanded its scope of coverage on the boat since the flagship series in the Caribbean premiered in 2013 as producers discovered new areas in which crew members would, uh, hang out, such as the laundry room (thanks to Below Deck Season 3's Eddie Lucas and Raquel "Rocky" Dakota) and the bridge (we're looking at you, Malia White and Wes Walton in Season 2 of Below Deck Mediterranean).
So, is there actually anywhere aboard the Parsifal III that crew members can get some privacy? Earlier this season, Bravo Insider posed that very question to two people behind the scenes of Below Deck Sailing Yacht: executive producer Jill Goslicky and Vice President, Current Production at Bravo, Matt Reichman.
They explained that, when it comes to documenting the private moments of crew members, producers are really only concerned with instances where some sort of interaction is occurring. "There’s a conversation that the producers and executives have with the cast before cameras are up at the beginning of the season, and these are conversations that happen before the crew even arrives," Reichman said. "We’re not interested in, like, watching people doing things privately, like if they need to go the bathroom. Like, that’s not what we’re following. But if two people are in the bathroom, then something’s happening, and that’s where cameras are going in."
"Yeah, we’re not interested in bodily functions," Goslicky added. "We’re interested in relationship dynamics. Two people makes it a dynamic."
Still, sometimes people try to be more discreet when they know cameras are around, such as when Sydney Zaruba and Gary King chatted together under a towel on deck during the crew's first night off of the season. "I think it’s like a somewhat natural human reaction. I would say that maybe that happens this season, like, five percent of the time. And 95 percent of the time, they’re doing their jobs. They’re involved in their relationships. They honestly usually forget the cameras are there," Goslicky said of these moments of concealment. "But you know, they’re humans, too. They’re not these, like, TV robots who show up and are, you know, perfectly comfortable on camera right away. So I do think it’s just sort of a natural human inclination [to want] some privacy for one minute of the day."
Reichman emphasized how much the Below Deck Sailing Yacht crew really came prepared to be open with their lives this charter season. "I think the cast, they know what they’re signing up for. The best seasons of Below Deck is when the cast is very honest and real and open to the camera, and I think it translates to the series — warts and all, right?" he said. "You gotta put yourself out there, and the cast members [know] that nobody’s perfect, everyone has flaws, and if you’re able to sort of expose your flaws, then I think that that resonates much more to the audience, and they’re gonna root for you, you know, hopefully. Hopefully, you have a way to turn it around. But sometimes, you don’t. But that’s part of the process, you know? It’s really hard to come to terms with, but that’s what they’re signing up for and that’s what we try to capture."
In fact, it's the crew members that don't hold anything back that really endear themselves to viewers the most, according to Goslicky. "I have a theory that the people that are the most open and that are the most accepting of who they are, flaws and all, are the ones who fare the best. They’re the ones who people end up rooting for and like. It’s actually the ones that try to hide things and shy away, because you can always tell there’s something else going on that’s not being revealed, and people react to that," she said. "And so, I honestly think the best way to engage in the process is just, like, give into it fully, ‘cause I do think that the audience gets behind that. And people will forgive you for making mistakes, ‘cause we all do it. But people are less forgiving if you’re not willing to admit if you’ve made mistakes."
Want more Below Deck Sailing Yacht? New episodes air every Monday at 9/8c or catch up on the Bravo app.
