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Everyone’s favorite Below Deck duo returns to our screens! Couch Talk With Captain Lee & Kate premieres tonight (August 14) at 10 PM ET/PT on Bravo and will feature Kate Chastain and Captain Lee Rosbach breaking down the biggest moments of the week from beloved Bravo shows like Real Housewives of Atlanta, Real Housewives of New York City, Project Runway, and Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake. A reality TV junkie herself, Chastain will now be in the captain’s seat as she helps her long pal and former boss Captain Lee navigate the stormy sears of Bravo fandom.

From her six seasons on Below Deck to her wildly popular turn on Peacock’s Traitors, Chastain has earned her place in reality TV history. However, she’s been pretty busy on other projects lately. After settling down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, near Captain Lee and a few of her famous yachtie pals, Chastain gave birth to her son, Sullivan Cay, this past May. Luckily for Chastain, Sullivan is already proving to be a great TV watching partner. “Sullivan actually enjoys watching Bravo,” gushed Chastain, “and he’s going to have to.” Too true when considering his mom’s line of work!

In addition to being a new mom, she also found time to make an appearance on the Project Runway/Below Deck crossover episode as a guest judge, alongside RHONY star Luann de Lesseps. Chastain has been a fan of Project Runway since she was 20 years old. In fact, Chastain confides, “[it was] probably my favorite experience of all my time on Bravo.” With her head-turning fashions on Traitors and her years of yachting experience, Chastain was the perfect choice to judge the reinvented formal yachting outfit challenge.

Over Zoom, we spoke to Chastain about her new dynamic with Captain Lee on Couch Talk, her favorite Bravo shows to watch, and what she thinks of Traitors‘ twist for Season 2.

DECIDER: Couch Talk With Captain Lee & Kate feels like an extension of Galley Talk but with a dash of The People’s Couch. How did this show come to pass?

KATE CHASTAIN: Captain Lee and I have obviously been friends for a long time, and we both live in Fort Lauderdale. Also, I’ve always been a huge Bravo fan. Over the years, Captain Lee and I have discussed Bravo, so it just seemed like a really fun thing for us to do now that we both have a little more time.

Was It easy to go from that Captain/Chief Stew dynamic on Below Deck to coach potatoes together?

It’s actually very fun for me. [laughs] On Below Deck, he was the captain, but with my extensive Bravo-fan knowledge, I feel like I’m steering this ship.

In the trailer, we see you explain “Scandoval” and the meaning of RHONY to Captain Lee. What does it feel like to be his Bravo whisperer?

It’s always so much fun to describe and explain the Real Housewives to Captain Lee. It doesn’t matter which franchise, it’s just hilarious to see his reactions to their wild antics. Additionally, we get together to watch Project Runway, Below Deck Down Under, Crappie Lake, and more. He’s over at my house for quite some time, but I don’t mind the company.

How are you balancing all that reality TV watching with being a new mom?

Sullivan seems to enjoy watching Bravo. At any rate, he’s going to have to learn to appreciate reality TV if he doesn’t already.

When will you relay your reality TV legacy to Sullivan?

I think we’re just going to cross that bridge when we get there, and we’re going to hope that bridge comes later rather than sooner.

You two watch an amazing array of Bravo shows on Couch Talk. Is there a show in particular that you were excited to watch or rewatch?

I was very excited to watch the Project Runway episode that Captain Lee and I were on together. That was such an exciting moment for me. Plus, I really am enjoying the New Housewives of New York season. The cast is so good, so fresh. Those are probably my two favorites.

You did an amazing job as guest judge on the Project Runway/Below Deck crossover episode. What was your favorite part of that experience?

I’ve been watching Project Runway since I was 20. I don’t do the math, but it’s been a long time. To meet Nina Garcia and sit in that director’s chair was truly a dream come true and probably my favorite experience of all my time on Bravo.

Is there a unrenewed Bravo show you’d love to bring back?

I fell in love with Bravo because of The Rachel Zoe Project. I also love Brad Goreski. I would watch anything either of them was in.

To the previously uninitiated, you were the breakout star of Traitors. Are people still sliding into your DMs and comments about the show?

I was so pleasantly surprised at the reaction to my time on Traitors. Clearly, I didn’t have the best time, but similarly with Below Deck, sometimes when you’re having the worst time during filming, it makes the best television. I was happy that it was received well, and I’m still getting some messages about Traitors.

Season 2 of Traitors is going to shake up the format by featuring only reality TV stars. What do you think of the change?

I didn’t know that, but I think that’s for the best. Though I did truly love the non-reality contestants. Man, they just were looking at us with wide eyes because we had all this experience with navigating relationships on and off camera and with being in the world of reality TV. It was almost an unfair advantage. I look forward to seeing who’s going to be on the show. That’s a great idea to make it reality TV stars only. It’ll be much more dramatic.

Alan Cumming will also be returning to Traitors for Season 2. I think he could make a great potential guest host on Couch Talk…

[Laughs] Well, you never know who will stop by Couch Talk. We do have some guest appearances and some surprises. Alan was also so lovely to me during my time in Scotland. As soon as I got banished, he DMed me. He was a little busy with the Winner’s Circle, but he still found time to message me. He’s a class act.

Will we see Sullivan or Maryanne [Captain Lee’s wife] on the couch this season?

Oh, yes–Sullivan, Maryanne, and people from the Bravo Universe. We’ve got a lot of friends, Captain Lee and I.

So lastly, why is Couch Talk with Captain Lee & Kate the perfect Monday night show for Bravo?

Couch Talk is so different from Galley Talk. I love it so much because it’s just Captain Lee and I can be who we are together, and because of our differences, it’s very humorous. People will love to see our different takes on each show and the natural banter that follows.

Couch Talk with Captain Lee & Kate premieres Monday, August 14 at 10pm ET/PT on Bravo.