I love reality TV. There’s just something about the drama, the romance and the high stakes that I can’t get enough of — so much so that I’ve even been on a (highly embarrassing) dating show once.
No thanks to that particular experience, I’ve since entered a thriving relationship. And, as the ultimate celebration of love, my partner and I spend our evenings watching reality TV, discussing its cultural merit and live-tweeting opinions.
It was inevitable that I’d subscribe to hayu — or at least try it out for free for a week.
If you haven’t heard of hayu, it’s a reality TV streaming service featuring everything from Keeping Up With The Kardashians and The Real Housewives to Top Chef and Love Island.
So, I downloaded the hayu app to my smart TV, threw on some sweats and flicked through the offerings. There are over 300 shows, so it took a while.
Always on the hunt for my next binge, I settled on Below Deck Down Under. With everyone from my BFF to my therapist telling me how much I’d love Below Deck, I decided to take the plunge into its newest series.
Here’s what I already knew about the franchise: a crew works on a luxury yacht, and there’s lots of drama (obviously).
So, I tucked into the premiere of Below Deck Down Under and, folks, I wasn’t disappointed. I get the hype now. I’m totally hooked, and I want more.
In this show, a fresh-faced group of young people set off the coast of Australia.
The episode starts with a preview of the entire season, and it looks like a lot goes down — and I mean a lot.
The drama ranges from stuff you’d expect in the workplace (like sassy coworkers, hot bosses and entitled customers) to problems more unique to yacht crews (like sharks).
The boat itself is next-level gorgeous, as is literally every crew member. Everyone’s either a model, obsessed with weight-lifting or has a name like “Brittini” (pronounced like “martini”).
The high levels of attractiveness are met with big personalities, and it makes for perfect TV drama — the kind you can't stop watching.
From what I’ve gathered, chief stew Aesha Scott is a fan favourite, and I can see why. She’s good at her job, fun to watch and always down to disclose when she’s about to have a bowel movement.
My personal fave is second steward Tumi Mhlongo — she’s a master decorator and very flirty, and we love that for her.
The passengers are linen-clad millennial high rollers, paying roughly 80 grand to charter for three days. I'm simultaneously jealous of them and curious about their origin stories.
The show left off at a very intense cliffhanger that I won’t reveal the details of, though I will admit I’m very invested because when I was hit with a “To Be Continued...” card, I realized I’d been holding my breath.
Needless to say, I’m officially locked into that hayu subscription. I could’ve opted in monthly ($5.99) or for six months ($28.99), but instead, I decided to commit fully. I snagged an annual subscription for $52.99 — because the more you buy, the better the price.
I'm about to watch the second episode. After that, I’ll probably dive into the other Below Deck seasons like Below Deck Sailing Yacht or even a hayu exclusive like The Bachelor Australia. And, of course, I’ll catch up on what Twitter has to say about both.
Subscribe to hayu and download the app to watch Below Deck Down Under and other binge-worthy reality TV shows. You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.
Although products were provided for free in this review, the author's opinions are genuine and do not reflect the views of Narcity Media.