Shark Week is an annual, week-long TV
programming block created by Tom Golden
at the Discovery Channel, which features
shark-based programming. Shark Week
originally premiered on July 17, 1988.
Featured annually, in late July and/or
early August, it was originally devoted
to conservation efforts and correcting
misconceptions about sharks. Over time
it grew in popularity and became a hit
on the Discovery Channel. Since 2010, it
has been the longest-running cable
television programming event in history.
Now broadcast in over 72 countries,
Shark Week is promoted heavily via
social networks like Facebook and
Twitter. Episodes of recent years are
also available for purchase on services
like Google Play Movies & TV/YouTube,
Amazon Video, and iTunes. Some episodes
are free on subscription-based Hulu.
Since its early days, Shark Week has
evolved into more entertainment-oriented
and sometimes fictional programming. In
recent times, it has attracted much
criticism for airing dramatic programs
to increase viewers and popularity. This
fictitious programming, known as
docufiction, has been produced in the
last few years. Examples of such
programs include Megalodon: The Monster
Shark Lives, Shark of Darkness: Wrath of
Submarine, Monster Hammerhead, Lair of
the Mega Shark, and Megaladon: The New
Evidence. This strategy was successful,
especially for the program Megalodon:
The Monster Shark Lives, as it became
one of the most watched programs in
Shark Week history, primarily for the
controversy and backlash it generated.
The mockumentary was based on an ancient
giant shark called megalodon, which is
now long extinct. The airing of this
program fueled an uproar by viewers and
by the science and science-loving
community. It eventually started a
Discovery Channel boycott. Since then
Discovery has increasingly come under
fire for using junk science, pushing
dubious theories, creating fake stories
and misleading scientists as to the
nature of the documentary being
produced.
On 28 October 2014, Rich Ross became the
new president of Discovery. Later in
early 2015, he vowed to remove the
so-called "docufiction", which are fake
and dramatized documentaries, from the
future Shark Week lineups.
Broadcasting 
1988: The first ever Shark Week
premiered in July 1988, with the first
show to air being Caged in Fear. A total
of 10 episodes aired. Other shows
include Sharks - Predators or Prey, The
Shark Takes a Siesta, and Sharks of a
Different Color.
1989: Due to the success of the first
Shark Week, Discovery decided to
continue it. Programs such as Shark:
Maneater or Myth?, Shark Hunters of
Achill Island, and Sharks of San
Francisco aired in 1989.
1990: New shows that aired include
Shark!: The World of Sharks and
Barracuda and Sharks: Hunters of the
Oceans.
1991: This year was referred to as Shark
Week: The Revenge. Shows to air include
Shark Shooters, Sea Lovers, and Great
Shark Hunt.
1992: This year was branded as Shark
Week: They're Back. Shows to air include
The Man Who Loves Sharks, Sharks of
Polynesia, Great White Encounters, and
Great White! Parts 1 and 2.
1993: This year was called Shark Week:
We Dare You to Watch. The programs to
air included African Shark Safari,
Sharks on the Brink of Extinction, Teeth
of Death, Assignment Adventure, and
Sharks of Pirate Island.
1994: Jaws author Peter Benchley hosted
Shark Week 1994. This was the first year
ever Shark Week had a host. New programs
were introduced at locations where Jaws
was filmed.
1995: Programs to air included Sharks of
the Red Triangle, Rendezvous at
Ningaloo, and In Search of the Golden
Hammerhead.
1996: Shows to air include The Ultimate
Guide: Sharks, Danger Beach, and Tales
of the Tiger Shark, which is the third
most watched Shark Week program ever.
1997: Shark Bites: A Decade of Shark
Week aired this year, which was a
two-hour special reviewing some of the
best moments on Shark Week.
1998: Show that aired include
Prehistoric Sharks, Zambezi Shark,
Hammerheads: Nomads of the Sea, and
Great White: In Search of the Giants.
1999: A two-hour special entitled Live
From a Shark Cage aired in 1999, hosted
by journalist Forrest Sawyer. It was a
live program filmed at Bikini Atoll in
the Pacific Ocean. The show also
featured cinematographer Al Giddings.
2000: In 2000, on Discovery Channel
aired Shark Week Uncaged presented by
famous zoologist Nigel Marven as a host.
Six million 3D Pulfrich glasses were
distributed to viewers in the United
States and Canada for an episode
featuring an extinct giant shark, which
had 3D segments.
2001: Nigel Marven hosted Shark Week for
his second time in 2001. Air Jaws:
Sharks of South Africa aired in 2001.
The program showed Great White sharks
near the coast of South Africa jumping
high out of the ocean. It was one of the
most watched programs in Shark Week
history.
2002: Nigel Marven hosted Shark Week for
a third time in 2002. This Shark Week
was celebrity themed. Various
celebrities swam in the water among
sharks. They include Julie Bowen, Mark
McGrath, David James Elliott, Adrian
Pasdar, Estella Warren, Brian McKnight,
Gabrielle Reece and Casper Van Dien.
2003: There was no host for Shark Week
in 2003. It began on August 14. The
second most watched show ever in Shark
Week history, Anatomy of a Shark Bite,
also aired that day.
2004: Shark Week 2004 was hosted by the
American Chopper cast. It ran from July
25-31.
2005: In 2005, Adam Savage and Jamie
Hyneman from the Discovery Channel
series MythBusters hosted Shark Week,
and a two-hour MythBusters "Jaws
Special" was premiered for the event.
2006: In 2006, Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs
hosted, and two Dirty Jobs episodes were
featured, titled "Jobs that Bite" and
"Jobs that Bite...Harder". Also during
the week, the Silver Spring, Maryland
headquarters of the Discovery Channel
was outfitted to resemble a giant shark.
2007: In 2007, Discovery Channel
celebrated Shark Week's 20th Anniversary
hosted by Les Stroud, host of
Survivorman. The 20th anniversary
included the launch of Sharkrunners, a
video game that uses GPS data from
tagged sharks in the Pacific Ocean. The
episode Ocean of Fear aired on July 29.
2008: Shark Week 2008 ran from July 27
to August 2 and was hosted by both the
MythBusters and Mike Rowe. Both a new
MythBusters shark special and a
shark-themed episode of Dirty Jobs
premiered for the event.
2009: 2009's Shark Week began the
evening of August 2. The season
premiered with Blood in the Water, a
recreation of the Jersey Shore shark
attacks of 1916.
2010: Shark Week 2010, hosted by The
Late Late Show '​s Craig Ferguson, began
on August 1 and featured six brand-new
shark specials. It was advertised by the
second appearance of the giant
inflatable shark attached to the
Discovery Channel building nicknamed
"Chompie". Shark Week 2010 was rated the
most viewed Shark Week ever with 30.8
million unique viewers. Shark Week is
now the longest-running program event on
cable.
2011: Shark Week 2011, hosted by Andy
Samberg, began on July 31. It featured
seven specials.
2012: Shark Week 2012, hosted by Philip
DeFranco, started August 12, 2012, at
9/8c. After being absent in 2011,
"Chompie" the giant shark is once again
being displayed on the Discovery Channel
Building. To honor the series' 25th
anniversary, viewers were encouraged to
vote via Twitter or Facebook on which
item a mechanical megalodon shark would
crush with its hydraulic jaws in the
"Shark Week Chompdown".
2013: Shark Week 2013 began on Sunday,
August 4. It began with Megalodon: The
Monster Shark Lives, a fictitious
documentary-style film which
hypothesized the Megalodon shark
existing in present times. The program
was heavily criticized for promoting bad
science and manipulating viewers.  Shark
Week was heavily promoted by a popular
ad in which a news program covers the
return of "Snuffy The Seal" to the ocean
only to see a shark jump out and devour
the seal on camera. Each evening of
Shark Week, after new episodes aired, a
program called Shark After Dark LIVE
aired, hosted by comedian Josh Wolf and
featured comedian Bob Oschack as Bob the
Shark.
2014: Shark Week 2014 began on Sunday,
August 10. Fourteen programs aired, and
five Shark After Dark LIVE episodes were
shown for the first five days after two
new programs each night. Shark Week
ended on Saturday, August 16.
2015: Shark Week 2015 aired a month
earlier than the previous year,
premiering on Sunday, July 5th at 8/7c.
It will last a total of eight days. A
total of 14 new episodes will premiere.
On June 23, a special titled Shark Week
Sharktacular was aired. It highlighted
the best moments in Shark Week history,
and previewed Shark Week 2015. Also
eight special "Sharkopedia Edition"
episodes will air. These are re-cuts of
new episodes from this year with extra
information given for the viewer. For
the third year in a row, five Shark
After Dark LIVE episodes hosted by will
premiere on the first five nights. This
year, Eli Roth became the new host,
replacing former host of two years Josh
Wolf. Shark Week will end on Sunday,
July 12, with the final new episode
starting at 8/7c.
Hosts 
The complete list of hosts for Shark
Week is the following:
1988–1993: No host
1994: Peter Benchley
1995–1999: No host
2000–2002: Nigel Marven
2003: No host
2004: American Chopper cast
2005: Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman
2006: Mike Rowe
2007: Les Stroud
2008: Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman, and
Mike Rowe
2009: Les Stroud
2010: Craig Ferguson
2011: Andy Samberg
2012: Philip DeFranco
2013–2014: Josh Wolf
2015: Eli Roth
Shweekend 
In 2015, Discovery announced a new,
shark-themed weekend would air on the
Discovery Channel. The weekend took
place in late August 2015, and contained
three different programs. The first
program, which aired on Sunday, August
29, was MythBusters vs. Jaws, followed
right after by Shark Alley: Legend of
Dynamite. The next day, Sunday, August
30, one program aired, called Air Jaws:
Walking with Great Whites. The purpose
of Shweekend was to increase the
shark-related content from previous
years and to prolong the summer's shark
coverage.
DVD and Blu-ray releases 
References 
External links 
Shark Week on the Discovery Channel
website
Shark Week at the Internet Movie
Database
