Shark Week 2016 Schedule

Discovery Channel

For the longest time, fans of Discovery Channel’s annual summer event Shark Week could depend upon the celebration of all things shark airing in the later summer. In recent years, the network has played with moving the event ever earlier, with Shark Week 2016 beginning June 26 and running through July 3. A Discovery publicist told us that when they aired Shark Week at around this time last year, it was “very successful.” And it was, averaging about 2.5 million viewers, showing that people will find shark programming wherever and whenever it’s on, given how fascinating these creatures remain.

For Shark Week 2016, Discovery says it is working with nearly two dozen of the world’s most respected marine biologists and science institutions to reveal new insights into sharks and explore the rising threats that face the animals and their ecosystem. According to Discovery, some of the elements viewers can expect in Shark Week 2016 are:

  • SharkCam diving deeper than ever before, following giant great white sharks into the deep ocean to record never-before-seen behaviors
  • Sharks facing off with dolphins, seals, crocodiles and even humans, as one science team finds itself surrounded by a gang of large tiger sharks
  • Film director/producer/actor Eli Roth returning for the second time to host Shark After Dark, the late-night talk show airing after Shark Week programs, from June 26-30

SHARK WEEK 2016 Programming Schedule (Discovery Channel; All times ET/PT) 

Sunday, June 26
8:00-9:00 PM                          TIGER BEACH
9:00-10:00 PM                        RETURN OF THE MONSTER MAKO
10:00-11:00 PM                      ISLE OF JAWS
11:00-11:30 PM                      SHARK AFTER DARK 

Monday, June 27
8:00-9:00 PM                       SHALLOW WATER INVASION
9:00-10:00 PM                     JAWS OF THE DEEP
10:00-11:00 PM                    SHARKS AMONG US
11:00-11:30 PM                     SHARK AFTER DARK

Tuesday, June 28
9:00-10:00 PM                      WRATH OF A GREAT WHITE SERIAL KILLER
10:00-11:00 PM                     AIR JAWS: NIGHT STALKER
11:00-11:30 PM                      SHARK AFTER DARK

Wednesday, June 29
9:00-10:00 PM                       DEADLIEST SHARK
10:00-11:00 PM                      SHARKS VS. DOLPHINS: FACE OFF
11:00-11:30 PM                       SHARK AFTER DARK 

Thursday, June 30
9:00-10:00 PM                      NUCLEAR SHARKS
10:00 ­ 11:00 PM                   JUNGLE SHARK
11:00-11:30 PM                      SHARK AFTER DARK

Friday, July 1
9:00-10:00 PM                        SHARK BAIT
10:00-11:00 PM                      BLUE SERENGETI 

Saturday, July 2
9:00-10:00 PM                        SHARKSANITY 

Sunday, July 3
9:00-10:00 PM                        THE KILLING GAMES

New Specials For Shark Week 2016 (Descriptive Info From Discovery Channel)

TIGER BEACH ­ Airing Sunday, June 26 at 8PM ET/PT
Dr. Neil Hammerschlag is the world’s leading tiger shark expert. Now, he¹s on a quest to answer what he calls the trifecta of tiger shark science: where do these giant sharks mate, where do the pregnant females gestate, and where do they give birth? He hopes to find answers by tagging and tracking 40 individuals across a shallow area off the Bahamas called Tiger Beach. Second only to great whites, the tiger shark’s killing power and voracious appetite is legendary ­ and Neil has to deal with some aggressive sharks while on expedition.  

RETURN OF MONSTER MAKO ­ Sunday, June 26 at 9PM ET/PT
Professional shark tagger Keith Poe, and marine biologists Greg Stuntz, Matt Ajemain and their team use state-of-the-art technology to try to document a live-predation of a thousand-pound mako shark — what fishermen call a “grander.” Granders are enormous makos that make a kind of transformation when they reach 10 feet and 1000 pounds ­ they become more secretive and begin to hunt bigger prey, like seals. And they¹re hard to find on the East Coast ­ until Joe Romeiro and team jump in the water after dark and come face to face with them. 

shark-week-2016-great-white
Discovery Channel

ISLE OF JAWS ­ Airing Sunday, June 26 at 10PM ET/PT
In 2016, award-winning shark cinematographer Andy Casagrande discovered that great white sharks had strangely and completely disappeared from the Neptune Islands off South Australia. Where did the sharks go? Searching west along the known great white migration route, he stumbles upon an incredible discovery ­ a concentration of all male great white sharks off an uncharted island. Andy calls in marine biologist Dr. Jonathan Werry, and together they get up close and personal with a dozen large great whites in the hopes of solving two of the most closely guarded of all the great white¹s secretsŠ where they mate and where they have their young. Within this program, viewers will be able to immerse themselves into the adventure with virtual reality by using the DiscoveryVR app.  

SHALLOW WATER INVASION ­ Airing Monday, June 27 at 8PM ET/PT
Using a self-propelled shark cage called “The Explorer”, marine biologists Mauricio Hoyos and Grant Johnson will investigate a recent discovery at Guadalupe Island ­ great whites moving into shallow waters at night. This movement shows that sharks entering shallow water are normal behavior –­ which would account for some of the shark encounters happening with greater frequency in the shallows along coastlines. 

JAWS OF THE DEEP ­ Airing Monday, June 27 at 9PM ET/PT
Marine biologist Greg Skomal and the REMUS SharkCam team return to Guadalupe to find the world’s largest great white shark, Deep Blue. This time, they deploy two robot subs: one that dives to 300 feet, and another that goes to 2000.  Together, they build a profile of how the great white uses the entire water column. The team uncovers hunting techniques and strategies great whites use to ambush their prey ­ and film a great white’s attack on the sub. 

SHARKS AMONG US ­ Airing Monday, June 27 at 10PM ET/PT
Shark encounters are increasing around the globe. The solutions to deal with the public’s growing anxiety range from culling to using nets and drumlins ­ all of which kill sharks. Dr. Craig O’Connell believes he has developed a system that will prove once and for all that sharks and people can peacefully coexist. 

WRATH OF A GREAT WHITE SERIAL KILLER ­ Airing Tuesday, June 28 at 9PM ET/PT
A newcomer has taken residence in the waters of the Pacific NorthwestŠ — the great white shark. Shark expert Ralph Collier and Brandon McMillian seek answers to the main questions in this case ­ why are great white sharks traveling so far north and why are these encounters focused on this one particular place? 

AIR JAWS: NIGHT STALKER ­ Airing Tuesday, June 28 at 10PM ET/PT
Famed shark photographer Chris Fallows embarks on his eighth Air Jaws adventure with shark expert Jeff Kurr and shark biologist Neil Hammerschlag as they discover how great white sharks hunt in total darkness. Narrated by Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), the special shows that great whites can hunt effectively with or without any sun or moonlight ­– but how do they do that? 

DEADLIEST SHARK ­ Airing Wednesday, June 29 at 9PM ET/PT
Using cutting-edge research and thrilling historical evidence, Dr. Michael Domeier and Dr. Barry Bruce go looking for rare oceanic white tip sharks, to see if the species deserve the reputation as the “World’s Deadliest Shark.” History says they are ­ and when the scientists dive in the Bahamas and off Hawaii, they’re spooked by this very dangerous shark. 

SHARKS VS. DOLPHINS: FACE OFF ­ Airing Wednesday, June 29 at 10PM ET/PT
Sharks and dolphins have shared the ocean for ages, but only recently, scientists have begun to understand the true nature of the relationship between these two masters of the sea. It’s hostile, and dangerous, mainly for dolphins.  Dolphins would rather eat fish and swim with humans; sharks would rather eat dolphins and anything they can sink their teeth into.  Dr. Mike Heithaus and his team bring new research that may solve why sharks attack dolphins far more than we ever knew. 

NUCLEAR SHARKS ­ Airing Thursday, June 30 at 9PM ET/PT
Grandson to legendary underwater explorer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau, Philippe Cousteau, and his wife Ashlan Gorse Cousteau travel with marine biologist Luke Tipple to Bikini Atoll to explore a marine environment once destroyed by nuclear testing during the Cold War. The nuclear devices detonated across the atoll vaporized two islands and destroyed everything living. Today, nature has proved resilient and restored the marine ecosystem, re-populating the atoll with reef sharks.  But since reef sharks are considered non-migratory, where did they come from?  

JUNGLE SHARK ­ Airing Thursday, June 30 at 10PM ET/PT
Marine biologist Dr. Craig O’Connell and Andy Casagrande travel up the Serena River in the rainforests of Costa Rica to try and find out why young bull sharks swim up the river, and how they avoid the 12-14′ American crocodiles living there.  O’Connell deduces the sharks smell the crocs and creates a first-of-its-kind croc scent-based bull shark repellant ­ and SHARK WEEK reveals a possible important discovery that could save human lives. 

shark-week-2016-bull-shark
Discovery Channel

SHARK BAIT ­ Airing Friday, July 1 at 9PM ET/PT
There’s been a war going on between seal and great whites for millions of years. Now there’s a new battleground on the map called Cape Cod.  It’s different in every way from the usual rocky islands where sharks and seals usually face off in other parts of the world. The great whites have had to learn new ways to hunt seals here. Dr. Greg Skomal and his team wonder, what are the sharks doing here, how do they get here, and how do more sharks learn of Cape Cod’s bounty of seals? And more importantly: if the number of seals and sharks continue to increase at the present rate, what’s the future? 

BLUE SERENGETI ­ Airing Friday, July 1 at 10PM ET/PT
Famed marine biologist and shark expert Barbara Block has been studying the white sharks off of California for more than 27 years. Now, with breakthrough camera technology and tracking technology, she’s giving scientists and viewers a portrait of a formerly unseen domain.  She calls it the Blue Serengeti — it’s a vast, rich, and hidden world, now more visible thanks to new camera tags deployed on both predator and prey. 

SHARKSANITY ­ Airing Saturday, July 2 at 9PM ET/PT
The greatest moments from SHARK WEEK 2016. Only the closest calls, biggest bites, and greatest gadgets made the cut. Then, your top picks for the best of SHARK WEEK history are revealed. 

THE KILLING GAMES ­ Airing Sunday, July 3 at 9PM ET/PT
Dr. Jonathan Werry and shark cinematographer Andy Casagrande travel to a special location in South Australia to research a new great white hunting strategy, where they no longer wait for seals to enter the ocean – they come out of the water and snatch them from the shore! But is this unique to Australia?  It isn’t; sharks are smarter than we thought and can learn new things when there’s food involved.

1 Comment

Comments are closed.