It’s not summer until Shark Week! The iconic fin-fest airs this month on Discovery — and all you need to know is that a bigger boat is always a good idea.
We’ve got the swallow-you-WHOLE television schedule below, and exciting news to sink your teeth into about a new interactive multimedia exhibit at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills to celebrate the event’s 30th anniversary.
Going on 30 years is an impressive achievement for any TV show, let alone one about just one subject. Now The Paley Center for Media is hoping to make a splash with its new 30 Years of Shark ‘N’ Awe! exhibition.
The center’s president and CEO, Maureen J. Reidy, said the exhibit — which is open to the public free of charge from July 14 through July 29 — offers a truly “immersive” experience.
It promises “jaw-dropping shark stories and groundbreaking scientific discoveries” as visitors relive the annual celebration’s greatest moments through video, never-before-seen photography, props, and costumes, including NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal’s custom wetsuit from the 2018 promo campaign.
You can also get an up-close look at Shark Week’s popular mascot,”“Chompie, Jr.”, and test your knowledge of Shark Week’s history through an interactive trivia challenge.
Shark Week 2018’s TV schedule
Shark Week begins on Sunday, July 22, and here’s the full schedule of programs that will feature, in order they appear.
ALIEN SHARKS: GREATEST HITS – Sunday, July 22 at 7 PM ET/PT
Ghostly sharks? Yes! Well more like “adaptations” to the ever-changing deep blue seas. This show will explore the darkest reaches of the world’s oceans, where some of the strangest creatures and most frightening sharks on earth live.
Discovery says: “In Alien Sharks: Greatest Hits, we’re recounting the biggest discoveries, weirdest adaptations, and most memorable moments from the past five years of Alien Sharks.”
BEAR vs SHARK – Sunday, July 22 at 8 PM ET/PT
Bear Grylls fans will be chomping at the bit to see this one — as the legendary adventurer pushes the limits beyond anything we’ve seen before in Shark Week. Discovery says: “Chumming from a helicopter? Check. Diving into a feeding frenzy? Check. Human bait? Check!”
SHAQ DOES SHARK WEEK – Sunday, July 22 at 9 PM ET/PT
Shaquille O’Neal is the main man for the 30th Anniversary of Shark Week. Discovery says: “Ex-Marine and comedian Rob Riggle will help train him at Atlantis, Paradise Island, in The Bahamas for the big plunge.”
RONDA ROUSEY UNCAGED – Sunday, July 22 at 10 PM ET/PT
Olympian and UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey is a badass in the ring, but underwater? Discovery says: “Former Navy diver and shark attack survivor, Paul De Gelder, coaches rookie diver Ronda Rousey through three rounds of survival training against heavyweight opponents including deadly Bull Sharks, all building to a historic “Main Event” where Ronda attempts to step outside the safety of any cage to face the ultimate fighter of the sea – The Mako.” My word!
MONSTER TAG – Monday, July 23 at 8 PM ET/PT
Aaron Rodgers, Lindsey Vonn and Rob Gronkowski are working with top shark scientists to learn about the ocean’s top predators. Discovery says: “Shark populations are in trouble worldwide, but a daring collection of dedicated shark researchers are using the latest satellite technology to try and save them. If researchers can use satellite wildlife tags to figure out where sharks feed, mate, and birth their pups, the information will be critical to conserving the species.”
GREAT WHITE ABYSS – Monday, July 23 at 9 PM ET/PT
Great White hotspot Guadalupe Island is where this one is set, as a 20-foot female named Deep Blue showed herself before disappearing into the deep. Is that where all the giant sharks live? Discovery says: “Dr. Mauricio Hoyos thinks so. In a combination of deep-water cage and submarine dives, Hoyos and expert shark diver Jimi Partington, plus Andy Casagrande go looking for big, bigger – the biggest sharks in the deep water around Guadalupe.”
CUBA’S SECRET SHARK LAIR – Monday, July 23 at 10 PM ET/PT
Cuba has bigguns. In 1945, one of the largest sharks ever recorded was captured in Cuban waters. This Great White was named ‘El Monstruo’, but there’s always more. Discovery says: “The phenomenon of massive sharks around Cuba puzzled scientists, but for years the island nation has been closed off to outsiders. Now, two teams of researchers have finally been granted permission to delve into the mystery of Cuba’s gigantic sharks. To the south, a team looks for a massive Great Hammerhead known as ‘The Queen’. And off Cuba’s north shore, the hunt is on for another ‘El Monstruo’-sized Great White!”
GUY FIERI’S FEEDING FRENZY – Tuesday, July 24 at 8 PM ET/PT
Flavor town meets Teeth City. Guy Fieri and son Hunter head to the Bahamas to experience local cuisine and learn about sharks.
LAWS OF JAWS – Tuesday, July 24 at 9 PM ET/PT
Expert divers Liz Parkinson, Mike Dornellas and Nick LeBeouf and professional cameraman Andy Casagrande reenact “five harrowing real-life encounters, putting their own lives on the line”.
AIR JAWS: THE HUNTED – Tuesday, July 24 at 10 PM ET/PT
Orca alert: In 2017, five full-grown Great White sharks washed up dead on beaches in South Africa, eaten alive with their livers devoured. Shark Biologist Alison Towner is on the case. Discovery says: “On her journey, Alison locates two Orcas, named Port and Starboard, easily identifiable by their drooping dorsal fins and she determines how they could be the attackers.”
AIR JAWS: BACK FROM THE DEAD – Wednesday, July 25 at 8 PM ET/PT
In 2001, the fabulous Air Jaws series was born! Now, orcas have killed several sharks off Cape Town and driven off the rest. Discovery says: “The future of the phenomenon is in question. Jeff and Chris travel to New Zealand to search for a new Air Jaws location – and look back through the fabulous visual record of South African ‘flying’ sharks to help them find the right spot.”
SHARK TANK MEETS SHARK WEEK – Wednesday, July 25 at 9 PM ET/PT
The Sharks stick together: Shark Tank titans go head-to-head with a $50,000 donation on the line. Discovery says: “The Sharks are each paired with a shark-centric non-profit where they interact with sharks and uncover the issues sharks are facing…Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, and Kevin O’Leary have to convince their fellow Sharks, including Robert Herjavec, why their non-profit deserves to win the $50,000 donation.”
SHARKCAM STAKEOUT – Wednesday, July 25 at 10 PM ET/PT
SharkCam’s Dr. Greg Skomal and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute team go to the Bahamas to investigate the private lives of Bull, and Hammerhead sharks. Discovery says: “In the past, SharkCam has revealed fascinating new behaviors of white sharks – what new things will the team discover about the hunting techniques of these other three fierce predators?”
SHARKCAM STRIKES BACK – Thursday, July 26 at 8 PM ET/PT
Shark’s eye-view: See everything from napping great whites to the famous SharkCam being attacked, as the show “highlights footage SharkCam has captured over the years.”
SHARKWRECKED – Thursday, July 26 at 9 PM ET/PT
How to survive open waters! Paul de Gelder and James Glancy spend two days floating in open ocean with sharks. What can go wrong? Discovery says: “It’s the most dangerous stunt Shark Week has ever undertaken.”
TIGER SHARK INVASION – Thursday, July 26 at 10 PM ET/PT
Dr. Neil Hammerschlag leads a team, including cameraman Joe Romeiro and local expert Alex Hearn, to the Galapagos to observe and document how tiger sharks – newcomers to the islands — are changing the underwater order.
MEGALODON: FACT VS. FICTION– Friday, July 27 at 8 PM ET/PT
“What if” time: In Megalodon: Fact Vs. Fiction, experts re-examine the original Shark Week special, dissecting scenes to verify if Megalodon would have lived and hunted if it were alive today.
BLOODLINE: THE SPAWN OF JAWS – Friday, July 27 at 9 PM ET/PT
History does repeat: The book Jaws was based on real shark attacks. Discovery says: “But all those big sharks were caught, killed and disappeared – until now. With protection, the sons and daughters of Jaws are making a comeback.”
GREAT WHITE SHARK BABIES – Friday, July 27 at 10PM ET/PT
Mess with mama and you get the teeth: Great White females migrate to Guadalupe for one last big feed of seals before they go off to have their pups. But where do they go? Discovery says: “Dr. Mauricio Hoyos believes they head to a biosphere reserve on the coast of Baja because local fishermen report catching many Great White pups there.”
RETURN OF MEGA SHARK – Saturday, July 28 at 9 PM ET/PT
Big legends or lore? Jeff Kurr and Andy Casagrande go to New Zealand to search for the largest Great White sharks in the world.
SHARKS GONE WILD – Saturday, July 28 at 10 PM ET/PT
Discover everything that has happened in the world of sharks this year, from viral videos, the biggest news stories, and the latest cutting-edge shark science emerging.
NAKED AND AFRAID OF SHARKS – Sunday, July 29 at 9 PM ET/PT
Naked. Afraid. Sharks…what could go wrong? Five Naked and Afraid All-Stars, Ky Furneaux, Ryan Holt, Chris Fischer, Steven Lee Hall, and Eva Rupert, are left stranded in the Bahamas’ shark territory to see who can stick it out for 14 days.
Shark Week 2018 condensed programming schedule (all times ET/PT)
Sunday, July 22:
- 7:00 PM Alien Sharks: Greatest Hits
- 8:00 PM Bear vs Shark
- 9:00 PM Shaq Does Shark Week
- 10:00 PM Ronda Rousey Uncaged
Monday, July 23:
- 8:00 PM Monster Tag
- 9:00 PM Great White Abyss
- 10:00 PM Cuba’s Secret Shark Lair
Tuesday, July 24:
- 8:00 PM Guy Fieri’s Feeding Frenzy
- 9:00 PM Laws of Jaws
- 10:00 PM Air Jaws: The Hunted
Wednesday, July 25:
- 8:00 PM Air Jaws: Back From The Dead
- 9:00 PM Shark Tank Meets Shark Week
- 10:00 PM SharkCam Stakeout
Thursday, July 26:
- 8:00 PM SharkCam Strikes Back
- 9:00 PM Sharkwrecked
- 10:00 PM Tiger Shark Invasion
Friday, July 27:
- 8:00 PM Megalodon: Fact vs. Fiction
- 9:00 PM Bloodline: Spawn of Jaws
- 10:00 PM Great White Shark Babies
Saturday, July 28:
- 9:00 PM Return of the Mega Shark
- 10:00 PM Sharks Gone Wild
Sunday, July 29:
- 9:00 PM Naked and Afraid of Sharks
Bonus Extras
- Lunch With The Sharks LIVE: a daily lunchtime streaming of sharks in partnership with the National Aquarium and broadcast via Facebook Live.
- The Shark Week Time Capsule will provide a “nostalgic walk” through the past three decades, covering the best of Shark Week and Pop Culture with video and photo retrospectives.
- Shark Week’s Instagram page will feature shark scientists, filmmakers, and advocates, who will connect with fans through photo and video takeovers to promote their shark conservationist message.
- Original shorts will feature this year’s top celebrity talent; behind-the-scenes and sneak peeks of this year’s specials; and 100 new shark GIFs and stickers are being made in partnership with Giphy.
- Oceana and Discovery are teaming up to help protect vulnerable hammerhead sharks, which are threatened by a global shark fin trade that includes fins from as many as 73 million sharks each year. The effort is being supported by collaborations with major brands that raise money for Oceana’s campaigns and create content to educate fans about why healthy oceans need sharks.
Shark Week premieres Sunday, July 22 at 7pm ET/PT and continues through Sunday, July 29 on Discovery.