Entertainment
The 'Below Deck' Season 2 Cast Is Full Of New Faces
The show that made you want to pack an extra suitcase full of Purell the next time you set out on a Caribbean cruise is returning. That's right, Below Deck is back for Season 2. Below Deck follows the adventures of the mega yacht Ohana and her faithful crew, led by Captain Lee Rosbach. Lee is back from the first season, along with Ben Robinson, Kat Held, and Eddie Lucas. There are also five new crew members joining Below Deck, and a new boat as well (Season 1's Honor apparently had other commitments). There are only so many activities you can get to on the confined space of a boat before you turn to sex and drinking, so Season 2 is bound to have just as many tipsy fistfights and awkward hookups as the show's maiden voyage last summer. Let's check in with the remaining originals, and see how they'll fair alongside their new coworkers.
Image: Ali Goodwin/Bravo
Oh Captain, My Captain
Why would Lee want to put himself through another season disciplining a crew who act like they’ve never been offshore before? My only guess is that, beneath his prickly exterior this ol’ sea dog actually has some love for these crazy kids. On the reunion show last year, he told Andy Cohen he’d be willing to rehire Eddie and Ben for another cruise, and that Kat was “a question mark,” but he’d seen she’d made some changes. Well, Lee may be regretting those words now, but for better or worse he, Eddie, Ben, and Kat will all be working together again, and they may have to band together now that they’re outnumbered by newbies.
Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
Ben Will Serve Up Some Drama
Ben is the head chef aboard Ohana, a job that is often performed by calm, introspective souls who don’t like raising their voices. Just kidding, British reality TV chefs are known for being overly anal control freaks who don’t know how to regulate their speech volume, and Ben is no exception. (I’m also being a little more hard on Ben than I normally would be, because he handles all the ship’s food, and yet in his promo photo he’s not wearing shoes.)
According to his Bravo bio, Ben also “enjoys his bachelor status and enjoys himself when in port.” That could stir up trouble between him and Kat, with whom he briefly hooked up last season, before they both realized what a terrible idea that was. Well, clearly that lesson did not sink in because as promos show, Kat and newbie Kate will both try to get with Ben this summer.
Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
Bro-est Bosun
Eddie is has moved up from regular deckhand to bosun (or the most senior deckhand). He’s always been the class clown of the Below Deck crew, so he’ll most likely play peacekeeper once the inevitable bickering between the old and new crew begins. Hopefully he’ll use his hilarious impressions of both guests and crew members to keep things light, and you can rely on him for some comic relief in between the tears and tantrums. He will also forever have a place in my heart for introducing the Bravo audience to the word “butthurt.” What a champ.
Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
Kat's Back
Last season, steward Kat was clearly at the center of pretty much all the drama, on board and on shore. Captain Lee was hesitant about hiring her again, but he’s given her a second chance, completely living up to image of the kindly old grandpa he resembles. Most of Kat’s problems stemmed from her drinking and her relationship with Ben (or both at once). Well, it looks like her boy troubles may repeat all over again this season, but Kat has promised to cut down on her drinking. We’ll see how that goes.
Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
Here Comes Trouble
The Ohana has a new head steward in Kate Chastain, a veteran yacht server and party planner on the high seas. Kate got into the luxury cruise industry looking for glamour (and a rich husband), so she’s not exactly thrilled when she’s forced to serve spoiled or ungracious guests, but she quickly discovered she has a real knack for throwing together themed parties and decorating small spaces at sea. She and Kat will clash over their mutual crush, Ben. Could this be Kat versus Adrienne 2.0? It appears Kate may have the upper hand this time around, but it remains to be seen who Ben will choose in the end.
Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
Eye Candy
Andrew Sturby is starting out at the bottom of the totem pole, as a deckhand. That might be because it’s unclear is he’s ever actually worked on a ship before. Andrew’s a model who’s worked for Abercrombie and Fitch and other international brands. He’s originally from Canada, but modeling has allowed him to travel quite a bit, and he’s even lived in the Bahamas, which could come in handy when the Ohana makes port. It seems like Below Deck is just another gig to promote himself and hopefully get bigger modeling deals in the future, but the rest of the crew may come to resent his lack of experience.
Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
Jennice the Menace
Jennice Ontiveros is yet another cast member who is new to the world of luxury yachting. She started just last summer, working as a deckhand and steward on Lake Michigan. I don’t know much about the midwest cruise industry, but I’ll hazard a guess that there aren’t too many $10,000,000 high class yachts lying around. Jennice is the only female deckhand this season, and the only non-white cast member to ever appear on this show, so she may have to overcome some adversity during her time on the Ohana. It looks like Kelley Johnson, another deckhand, will be happy to help her out.
Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
Reporting for Duty
Kelley comes to Below Deck by way of the U.S. Marine Corps, so you know this kid doesn’t mess around. He was on the team that rescued Captain Phillips and returned a Somali pirate to Djibouti for trial. I sort of assumed that after you do something awesome enough that an actor plays you in a Tom Hanks movie, you don’t really have to ever work again. But Kelley is back on the water this season. I wonder how he’ll deal with his crew mates’ inevitable whining and unprofessionalism? I’m pretty sure the phrase “I saved Captain Phillips” trumps every possible argument that Kat could make about why she isn’t working.
Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
The Higher the Hair, the Closer to God
Amy Johnson is Kelley’s older sister by four years. She’s a former pageant queen who was working at a Cadillac dealership before she decided to explore the wonderful world of yachting with her brother. As a steward, she’s technically higher up in the Ohana ranks than Kelley, which could cause some tension between the siblings, considering that he’s used to giving orders in the Marine Corps. It remains to be seen if Amy will have a fling on board or get into any other shenanigans at sea, or if she’ll keep her pristine image intact.
Image: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
