'Wicked Tuna': Was the Tyler-Bobby tension staged? Fans say show is 'fake' and fishermen get along off camera
In this week's episode of 'Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks' Reel E' Bugging Captain Bobby Earl and Pinwheel Captain Tyler McLaughlin got into what looked like a fun scuffle as the latter tried to climb to the flying bridge of Bobby's boat. At first, he indulged and gave in to the madness, but once it was over, Bobby shared it was not cool of Tyler to exhibit such "pirate" behavior. Fans, meanwhile, have pointed out how staged all the drama appeared and that they get along well once the cameras stop rolling.
"Show is fake. They All get along," a fan commented on the show's official Facebook page, while another echoed: "Just a show guys act different when cameras are on ...all great fisherman ......." "More like TV show drama. Need to add something so this time it was Tyler and Bobby. All for TV," a user expressed, while another pointed out: "Just asking, how much of this controversy do you think is being pushed by the producers?" a fan asked, to which another responded: "a lot. I took a fishing charter in OBX in August, in the same marina in Wanchese that these guys are out of. They said the show is mostly scripted and they even leave some fish out of the show so certain boats win or be close." "This is one of those odd seasons when I really like everyone in the fleet. Up to this point, there wasn’t any made-up drama “south vs north” crap. They don’t need that for this to be a good show. We just like watching good fishermen catch fish," another viewer posted.
The tension between Tyler and Bobby may be made up (as fans have pointed out) but their efforts to bring to the shore a good, impressive catch sure isn't. Tyler and his sister Marissa "Merm" McLaughlin caught a massive Tuna that got them over $6,000 in their pockets and pushed them ahead on the leaderboard. Catch all the new episodes of 'Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks' on National Geographic every Sunday at 9/8c. For more information, check your local listings.