Shark Week is back on Discovery, starting Sunday, July 23. The week will be live streamed on Philo (free trial) and fuboTV (free trial).
Discovery Channel’s host for “Shark Week” is none other than Aquaman. Jason Momoa, who in real life dreamed of a career as a marine biologist before Hollywood anointed him an ocean god, is going back to his roots to celebrate all things shark.
Momoa will be the week’s recurring master of ceremonies, dipping in and out of the channel’s roughly 20 new hours of programs that start Sunday. Episode encores run most nights, too.
Viewers will get to see rare sharks off the coast of South Africa, examine deadly shark attacks off the posh beaches of Egypt’s Red Sea and investigate whether sharks in Florida waters are getting high on cocaine.
The week kicks off with a sort of nautical nod to “Jackass.” Researchers in the show “Belly of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy” try to reproduce a great white shark feeding frenzy by building a life-sized dead whale carcass decoy.
They put veteran “Shark Week” biologist Dr. Austin Gallagher and cameras inside the cavity — along with 200 pounds of chum and 50 gallons of blood — and hope it can make dozens of sharks go mad. Then they try it at night.
“There are a few moments during the show where I was pretty freaked out,” Gallagher told the AP. “There’s a healthy respect there and I don’t want that ever to go away because I know what these animals are capable of.”
“Cocaine Sharks,” which premieres Wednesday, examines whether the occasional bricks of cocaine abandoned by drug smugglers effect shark behavior. It shows a swarm of lemon sharks going a bit insane over floating bales of faux cocaine and later we see how fish powder mimics the dopamine response that cocaine might give to junkie sharks.
“Alien Sharks” tries to find obscure species like the broadnose sevengill, which dates to the Jurassic Era, but is lately prized for their livers by orcas. There’s also the deliciously named puffadder shyshark, which glow under UV light, and the white-spotted wedgefish, named appropriately for its shovel like appearance.
Many of the programs investigate changes in the beasts’ behavior that may have to do with climate change or overfishing, such as sharks appearing in unfamiliar locations. Conservation efforts have also started to boost their numbers, bringing them closer to humans.
When is Shark Week 2023?
Shark Week starts at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) on Sunday, July 23.
Will it be live streamed?
Philo
Philo is a 64-channel option and an entertainment-only streaming service. Philo costs $25 a month and also offers a 7-day free trial. For an additional $6 per month, customers get access to three Epix channels. Viewers will be able to watch hit movies, original series and more.
FuboTV
Shark Week will be live streamed on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. The most basic of plans is the “fubo pro” package, which comprises 146-plus channels for $74.99 per month. Like all cord-cutting alternatives, there are plenty of options, especially for sports. It comes with more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.
There is also the “fubo elite” package, which comprises 205-plus channels for $84.99 per month. It comes with fuboExtra (48 more channels) and News Plus (11 more channels). Plus, more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.
The “fubo premiere” package is “fubo elite” with the addition of Showtime for $94.99 per month.
Will it be televised?
Shark Week will be broadcast on Discovery.
Full schedule
Sunday
- 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) Belly of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy: In a Shark Week first, researchers brave a great white shark-feeding frenzy inside a life-size whale decoy – which could be the key to finding the biggest Great White Sharks in South African history.
- 8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET) Jaws vs the Meg: The MEG, a massive shark measuring 50 feet and weighing 60 tons, was once feared as the most fearsome predator. It could devour a killer whale effortlessly, but new evidence suggests that its cousin, the Great White Shark, may have caused its extinction.
- 9 p.m. (10 p.m. ET) Serial Killer: Red Sea Attacks: Shark attack investigator Brandon McMillan and cinematographer Fo Zayed travel to Egypt, hoping to figure out what’s behind three recent deadly shark attacks off some of the Red Sea’s most posh resorts.
- 10 p.m. (11 p.m. ET) Shark Week: Off the Hook: Dive into the biggest thrills and most terrifying moments of 35 years of Shark Week as we go behind the scenes of iconic moments and reveal never-before-seen footage of the fearless adventurers who get up close with the world’s scariest creatures!
Monday
- 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) Great White Fight Club: A team of experts venture into the treacherous waters of New Zealand to provide groundbreaking evidence that female white sharks unequivocally dominate the ocean, reigning as the ultimate controllers of its fierce battlegrounds.
- 8 p.m. ( p.m. ET) Monsters of the Bermuda Triangle: A Porbeagle tagged off New England vanishes in the Bermuda Triangle. Evidence suggests it could be a monstrous predator. Dr. James Sulikowski and a team of scientists dive into treacherous depths to uncover the truth behind an apex predator.
- 9 p.m. (10 p.m. ET) Alien Sharks: Strange New Worlds: The tip of South Africa is a hotspot of unusual sharks that exhibit bizarre behaviors and alien appearances. Wildlife biologist Forrest Galante explores stunning kelp forests and ocean depths never seen by humans to study these extraordinary creatures.
Tuesday
- 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET): Mako Mania: Battle for California: Off the coast of Los Angeles, a new population of super makos is challenging Great Whites for hunting territories. Dr. Craig O’Connell, Fo Zayed, and Kendyl Bernet deploy state-of-the-art technology to reveal their dominance.
- 8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET): Raiders of the Lost Shark: Shark expert Matt Dicken and Shark Week legend Dickie Chivell embark on a relentless quest to locate the elusive and colossal shark named Dutchess, who mysteriously vanished from Gansbaai, South Africa, years ago.
- 9 p.m. (10 p.m. ET) Monster Hammerheads: Killer Instinct: Dr. Tristan Guttridge believes Hammerhead sharks can reach monster sizes by hunting other sharks – but the only way to prove it is to get tissue samples from some of the largest sharks on the planet.
Wednesday
- 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) Air Jaws: Final Frontier: Shark filmmakers hunt for “Air Jaws” in New Zealand’s hidden “launch pad.” Andy Casagrande and Jeff Kurr seek the 2nd breaching great white to uncover secrets that make history in these waters.
- 8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET) Florida Shark: Blood in the Water: Paul de Gelder is diving into the Shark Attack Capital of the World to conduct experiments that will confirm what makes these Dangerous Waters and determine methods to mitigate the risk.
- 9 p.m. (10 p.m. ET) Cocaine Sharks: For decades rumors of cocaine-fueled sharks have been whispered throughout the fishing community. Shark expert Tom Hird travels to the Florida Keys to investigate what happens with the sharks coming in contact with the most notorious drug on the planet.
Thursday
- 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) Jaws in the Shallows: Shark Week veteran, Dr. Riley Elliott, has traveled all over to study Great Whites, but now they’re terrorizing the beaches of New Zealand. Riley and his wife, Amber Jones, set out to find answers to keep their loved ones safe before it’s too late.
- 8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET) Monster Mako: Fresh Blood: Off California’s coast, twelve-foot-long monster mako sharks compete head-to-head with great whites for prey. Dr. Austin Gallagher and his team get up close with both predators in the shark dome and also track makos breaching eight feet out of the ocean.
- 9 p.m. (10 p.m. ET) Shark vs Snake: Battle of the Bites: Tiger sharks are washing up dead on the beaches of Western Australia with no sign of attack. Forrest Galante has a theory that deadly sea snakes are turning these apex predators into prey! In the battle of shark against snake, are snakes winning?
Friday
- 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET): Tropic Jaws: When a 16-foot great white invades Bali, Indonesia’s warm coast, it sparks fears they could adapt to hunting the tropical beaches. Dr. Craig O’Connell and Madison Stewart are on a mission to find Tropic Jaws and discover why they are here.
- 8 p.m. ( p.m. ET): Deadly Sharks of Paradise: Scientists in South America are studying a shark species thought to be responsible for a spike in attacks since 1990. Marine biologist Danni Washington and shark conservationist Paul de Gelder join a team tracking tiger sharks off a pristine tropical archipelago in Brazil.
- 9 p.m. (10 p.m. ET) The Haunting of Shark Tower: News of a harrowing shark encounter at North Carolina’s Frying Pan Tower has underwater cinematographer Andy Casagrande and shark expert Kori Burkhardt on a dangerous quest to discover whether great white sharks are moving into the state’s waters.
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Saturday
- 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) Dawn of the Monster Mako: A 14-foot giant mako shark is spotted in the waters of Portugal’s Azores region. Underwater cinematographer Joe Romeiro and his wife, marine biologist Lauren Romeiro, search the teeming depths around the ancient islands to capture the beast on film.
- 8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET) Megasharks of Dangerous Reef: The remote islands off the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia are believed to harbor some of the biggest white sharks on the planet. While local fishing reports suggest these giant sharks are still around, they’re rarely seen.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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