Captain Jason Chambers is manning the bridge once more for Hayu’s second season of Below Deck Down Under and according to “Captain Cutie”, the series is about as “real” as any reality show can get.
While there is filming equipment everywhere, Chambers is insistent that the cast and crew are there to get the job done and have no time to “worry about the cameras”.
“The best thing about this show, it’s a real reality show,” Chambers said during an interview with Mediaweek and Chattr’s The Entertainment Hotline podcast for the launch of the second season. “There’s very few of them. Deadliest Catch, Gold Rush or whatever. There’s not many [of them], but we are a real reality show. You can’t take that away.”
The 39-year-old then added that given they’re “driving a boat and doing a charter”, there’s “safety involved”, so concentration is paramount.
“There are elements around the weather and we’ve got to please the charter guests, so you put all of that into the forefront of your mind because that’s what’s got to be done. You have no time to worry about the cameras.”
Captain Jason Chambers. Hayu
Season two of Below Deck Down Under is “insane”
Speaking of the guests, Chambers admitted that they make waves in the brand-new season which premiered on Tuesday, July 18 on Hayu. That, and the messy love “pentagon” among the deck crew.
“It starts off with a bang!” he explained. “I saw some things I’ve never seen on boats before. You’ve seen the teasers, it’s like that all the way through. Season one was a lot about our growth, and getting to know each other, and the first cab off the rank in season two, we’re straight into it.”
Plus, fans of the hit franchise will be thrilled to know that there “was a hell of a lot of drama”.
“It was a lot of managing but it was enjoyable as well,” he said. “A lot of emotions. It was insane.”
Chambers will be joined once again by Below Deck Down Under season one chief stew Aesha Scott, a New Zealander who also found fame during the 2023 season of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here Australia.
Captain Jason and Aesha Scott. Hayu
When asked if there is any backlash for talking about the guests behind their backs once the show has aired, Chambers defended their chatter.
“I think they all know [what to expect] and you if you have a look at the characters, the personalities like myself and Aesha, there’s never anything derogative towards people,” he said. “It’s just more humorous, I suppose. An Australian and a Kiwi, and that’s our culture.
“They [the guests] get up to all sorts. It’s funny, they’re the same as us. As soon as they get on there, I’m sure the cameras have disappeared from their face as well.”
Captain Jason’s “all hands on deck” motto
The seasoned Captain also lives by the motto, “all hands on deck”, meaning he leads from the top down.
“I’m a worker,” he said. “I’ve had a trade background. I started at the bottom and I’ve got to where I am by grafting. I’ve seen so many times on boats where different departments think that it’s not their job and they lose the fact that we’re trying to all get to the same end result and that’s a successful charter and a happy guest.
“If I show the tone that I’m not going to walk past a bin that needs to be emptied or help wash up, if I have that tone and I just dismiss that, then that gives the right for the deck crew to feel that way. If I actually make that our motto, and that’s what we do, then they have to follow suit.”
Captain Jason and Aesha Scott. Hayu
Since Chambers learns a lot about his crew by watching the show back (particularly when it comes to the drama behind the scenes), he also uses this method as a clever tool to “eavesdrop” and find out what’s going on so he can be prepared.
“As a captain, you walk around and you feel the vibe,” he admitted. “That’s why you wash up. Everything starts in the galley. You stand there and wash up in the galley and you’ll hear so much about what’s going on very quickly and then you can actually predict what’s going to happen.
“You can be prepared for it. You’re not just sitting up on the bridge and getting shocked by something because you might have an energy or feel about it.”
Listen to the full interview with Captain Jason Chambers on The Entertainment Hotline Podcast here.
Stream brand new Below Deck Down Under on the same day as the USA from July 18, only on Hayu.