Below you’ll find a list of shows premiering during Shark Week for 2015. I have added extra information to Discovery’s descriptions in the form of links to make them more informative.
If we’re being honest, the lineup for Shark Week 2015 looks like it’s a continuation of Discovery’s more recent strategy of sensational shark attack videos, monster sharks, and the very brief inclusion of actual science. This is quite different from the days of people trying to build awareness that sharks aren’t particularly dangerous and that over-fishing is devastating the oceans ecosystems. It seems Discovery has over corrected and went back to extreme sensationalism to make money. It feels like they’re mouthing the words “we love sharks” while not really meaning it.
I’m also concerned that Discovery might be pulling our legs again with the story of “The Cuban”. For the last few years of Shark Week Discovery has included mockumentaries in the lineup. Last year we had Submarine, the year before that we had Megalodon, and this year I think they’re going to pull everybody’s leg again and make it seem like “The Cuban” (a supposedly very large great white shark caught in Cuba) is real. The upcoming show Tiburones: Sharks of Cuba is the only one that sticks out at me as having the clear potential of being a mockumentary.
Shark Trek
Airs on Sun Jul 5 @ 8/7c
Discovery’s description: Shark expert Greg Skomal and a team of engineers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution embark on a mission to find out why great white sightings in Florida are on the rise. It’s the biggest study ever of Atlantic great whites.
Island of the Mega Shark
Airs on Sunday July 5th @ 9/8c
Discovery’s description: The quest to photograph the largest great white shark continues as experts Andy Casagrande and Jeff Kurr join forces with Dickie Chivell at Guadalupe Island, Mexico. Theories suggest these mega sharks may come to feed and mate at this great white hot spot.
Monster Mako
Airs on Sunday July 5th @ 10/9c
Discovery’s description: A team of marine biologists set out to clock the top speed of the fastest shark in the ocean – the mako. Meanwhile, a second team aims to prove that makos are ambush predators that breach to kill their prey, just like great whites.
Return of the Great White Serial Killer
Airs on Monday July 6th @ 9/8c
Discovery’s description: Since 2008, every two years, in October, shark attacks strike Surf Beach, California. Now as October 2014 closes in, questions remain: will the attacks happen again? Is it the same shark? And, can DNA identify the great white shark responsible?
I feel like they’re pulling your leg on this one. It’s probably going to be like that Shark Week show in 2013 about a great white shark hunting along Florida’s coast or whatever it was but they never actually showed the shark, found the shark, or offered up any real evidence of it being the same shark supposedly attacking people. It’s probably going to be all bone, no meat.
Alien Sharks: Close Encounters
Airs on Monday July 6th @ 10/9c
Discovery’s description: Deep below the ocean’s surface live some of the strangest marine animals on earth. Now, three expeditions are exploring those depths for sharks that glow in the dark. They are hoping for a close encounter in the strange domain of alien sharks.
This is something you probably don’t want to miss. The only show during Shark Week in the last couple of years that has actually dealt with the science of sharks has been the Alien Shark shows. If you’re a fan of real shark content and not just biting stuff, this is probably going to be something you’ll want to see.
Bride of Jaws
Airs on Tuesday July 7th @ 9/8c
Discovery’s description: At nearly 18 feet and over 3,000 pounds, a record-breaking female great white shark nicknamed “Joan of Shark” roams the waters off Western Australia. Three shark experts follow an extraordinary 4,000-mile migratory path to find and tag her.
Tiburones: Sharks of Cuba
Airs on Tuesday July 7th @ 10/9c
Discovery’s description: A team of shark researchers head to Cuba to explore the most remote shark habitat in the world. 70 years after the largest great white ever recorded, a 23 ft. Great White named “The Cuban” was caught off the coast, a team of experts search for evidence of a population of large white sharks to prove the story is real.
As mentioned previously, i feel like this Shark Week show is going to have elements of a mockumentary. I understand you’ll follow some researchers in Cuba tagging sharks and then they’ll throw in the whole monster shark thing… Read more about Tiburones: Sharks of Cuba here.
Super Predator
Airs on Wednesday July 8th @ 9/8c
Discovery’s description: The search for the predator that ate a 9-foot great white off the coast of Australia takes wildlife filmmaker Dave Riggs into the kill zone—a deep ocean battleground of great whites, killer whales and giant squid.
Ninja Sharks
Airs on Wednesday July 8th @ 10/9c
Discovery’s description: The ocean is a cruel place—full of predators driven to survive. But at the apex of the food chain are six swift and deadly sharks. These stealthy assassins exploit prey with specialized adaptations, making them the most fearsome predators on the planet.
Shark Planet
Airs on Thursday July 9th @ 9/8c
Discovery’s description: From the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean, to the tropical seas of Indonesia, researchers are getting closer to sharks than ever before. Join us on an epic journey around the globe documenting groundbreaking new research into these long misunderstood animals.
Sharks of the Shadowland
Airs on Friday July 10th @ 9/8c
Discovery’s description: Mysterious sharks threaten government divers in remote New Zealand waters. Attack survivor Jenny Oliver and researcher Kina Scollay are on a quest to find out if the mysterious sevengill sharks are targeting divers…and are they hunting in packs?
Shark Clans
Airs on Friday July 10th @ 10/9c
Discovery’s description: Fifty years ago, Rodney Fox barely survived a great white shark attack. Now he is trying to help sharks survive mankind’s increasing pressure upon the oceans. Join Rodney and his team as they study and tag great whites off the coast of South Australia.
Sharksanity 2
Airs on Saturday July 11th @ 9/8c
Discovery’s description: We scoured the seas to bring you the greatest moments from Shark Week 2015! Only the closest calls, biggest bites and greatest gadgets made the cut. Then, we’re revealing your top picks for the best moments in Shark Week history.
Shark Island
Airs on Sunday July 12th @ 8/7c
Discovery’s description: In a remote corner of the Indian Ocean, Reunion Island has become the most dangerous place on the planet for shark attacks. After 7 deaths in 4 years, locals and scientists are in a race against time to find answers before another fatal encounter.