What happened to Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 5? That’s the question on fans’ minds after it was revealed Below Deck Med Season 9 will air following Below Deck Season 11.
Ever since Below Deck Sailing Yacht premiered on Bravo, it has followed the OG show.
Below Deck Med would then hit Bravo airwaves once the sailing show had wrapped it’s run.
That’s the way it’s been for the past four years, except for last year when Below Deck Down Under Season 2 aired after Below Deck Sailing Yacht.
So why all of a sudden is there a switch in the schedule, especially since Below Deck Med Season 8 just ended in January?
Let’s take a look at what we know.
What happened to Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 5?
The reason for the change-up likely has to do with the sexual misconduct allegations that came out against Gary King after Season 5 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht was filmed.
Leaked photos revealed that Daisy Kelliher and Gary were back for another stint aboard Parsifal III with Captain Glenn. The two of them returning was music to fans’ ears as they helped make Below Deck Sailing Yacht a huge success with Colin MacRae.
However, a couple of weeks later, news broke that a member of the production team came out via Rolling Stone to accuse Gary of unwanted sexual advances and harassment. Gary was soon removed from the BravoCon 2023 list, making clear Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 5 could be in trouble.
Unlike when Peter Hunziker was fired by Bravo for a racist post and then edited out of the season, Gary has not been fired from the show. Plus, editing Gary out really wouldn’t be an option because he plays such a pivotal role and makes a good story even if fans don’t like him.
All of this means that what would have been Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 5 could be scrapped. Should that be the case, a new season of the sailing show won’t air for a long time.
Then again, maybe the powers that be are still trying to figure out how to save the season with Gary, and they just need more time.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht fans share thoughts on schedule change
A Reddit thread devoted to the Below Deck Med and Below Deck Sailing Yacht swap had fans buzzing.
“I would absolutely be okay with a delay if it means not having to watch Gary. I’m not sure I’ll even watch if he’s on it, especially since Colin isn’t. And Glenn the enabler has went from being best captain to #3 now…,” wrote one user.
Another admitted to liking the sailing show with Daisy but could do without Gary and would be fine if Season 5 never aired.
“AS IT SHOULD BE. Bravo needs to learn- you hire racists, you hire sexual abusers, you’re going to lose money. The end.” was another remark.
A different user doesn’t think the season will air and noticed Daisy switched her Instagram bio, so that may be a clue that Season 5 will never see the light of day. There was also speculation that Below Deck spin-offs will soon be combined for money reasons.
“That is a possibility or they’re still editing the heck out of it to reduce his role as much as possible but that has got to be a monumental task. I doubt they’d scrub an entire season but maybe more things have come out behind the scenes we’re unaware of and they have to do what they have to do especially with all the negative publicity they’re getting with Andy Cohen lately.” declared another user.
Along with Below Deck Sailing Yacht being pushed back, Below Deck Down Under fate seems to be up in the air. As Monsters and Critics previously reported, Captain Jason Chambers asked for fans’ help with Season 3.
Be sure to keep checking back for more news on the Below Deck franchise.
Below Deck Med Season 9 premieres on Monday, June 3 at 9/8c on Bravo. Below Deck Sailing Yacht is currently on hiatus on Bravo.