Shark Week 2017: Everything You Need To Know

Yes it’s official! Shark Week 2017 starts on Sunday, July 23 at 7Pm ET/PT. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

The headliner for this year’s broadcast is “It’s still a bad week to be a seal.” Though it doesn’t kick off till at least another 30-something days, you can know long before then exactly what to expect.

Here’s one of the promo videos from Discovery Channel for Shark Week 2017 (Please be warned that it get’s scary at some point and may NOT be suitable for younger viewers).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9RTMUj3OB4

The programming schedule for the 29th year of Shark Week includes specials such as “Devil Sharks,” “Alien Sharks: Stranger Fins” and “SharkMania.” Also, there’s a special feature on Tuesday, July 18 that you’ll want to watch out for.

So, without further ado, let’s “dive in” with the sharks!

Sunday, July 23

• Great White Shark Serial Killer Lives (7 p.m. ET/PT)
They have been great white shark attacks on a secluded beach on the central California coast every couple of years: in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014. Will it happen again in 2016, and is it the same shark returning again and again?

Dr. Michael Domeier believes the “Surf Beach attacks” are more than a mere tragic coincidence. With the aid of shark experts Ralph Collier and Cal Lutheran, and employing satellite tags and DNA technology, he seeks to out the killer once and for all.

• Phelps Vs Shark: Great Gold Vs Great White (8 p.m. ET/PT)
It’s a never-before-seen competition as Michael Phelps (39 world records, 23 Olympic golds) races sharks. “The world’s most decorated athlete takes on the ocean’s most efficient predator: Phelps Vs Shark – The race is on!”

• Shark-Croc Showdown (9:10 p.m. ET/PT)
Dr. Mark Meekan and conservationist Paul de Gelder journey to one of the” sharkiest” spots on Earth. It’s a remote wilderness known as the Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory of Australia. Dr. Meekan wants to count the sharks and species as part of Vulcan’s Global FinPrint project. Paul de Gelder’s has heard that sharks and crocs fight over the sea turtles there. They’re going to find out exactly what happens when 14-foot crocodiles slide into shark infested waters!

• Devil Sharks (10:10 p.m. ET/PT)
Whether they are active, extinct, or any other stage in-between, volcanoes seem to hold a strong attraction for different species of sharks. Sharks will congregate around volcanoes and this is a worldwide phenomenon. Dr. Mike Heithaus dives to find out why volcanoes are so “hot’ to sharks.

• Shark After Dark (11:10 p.m. ET/PT)
Eli Roth returns as the host for the third year in a row on this show that looks back at some of the highlights from Shark Week and looks ahead to give viewers a sneak peek at the next day’s Shark Week programs.

Monday, July 24

• Shark Vortex (8 p.m. ET/PT)
Every year during summer, the Gulf Stream pushes north into the waters of southern New England, and it brings with it thirty species of sharks. Greg Skomal and Joe Romeiro study the annual spectacle, and focus on three sharks in particular: makos, great whites, and porbeagles. These are the ones that will out-swim, out-think, and out-compete all the others.

• Return to the Isle of Jaws (9 p.m. ET/PT)
The Isle of Jaws is a new great white hot spot south of Western Australia. Divers and scientists return there to unlock the mysteries of this place and in the process, they make a startling discovery that causes a re-think of everything we thought we knew about great whites

• Alien Sharks: Stranger Fins (10 p.m. ET/PT)
The show “Alien Sharks” returns in search of some of the world’s weirdest sharks. Dr. Craig O’Connell goes to the Bass Strait for sawsharks, while Victoria Elena Vasquez and Dr. David Ebert head into deep water in Tokyo Bay to find the star of the show, the goblin shark. They end up finding both sawsharks and goblins, and many more, including ghost sharks, frilled sharks, and the amazing luminescent lantern shark.

• Shark After Dark (11 p.m. ET/PT)

Tuesday, July 25

• Sharks and the City: L.A. (9 p.m. ET/PT)
Great white sharks are increasing along the coastline of Los Angeles, and they appear to hunting out of season. Dr. Chris Lowe, Director of the CSULB Shark Lab, seeks to find out why. His search for answers will take him to Guadalupe Island, off Mexico.

• Sharks and the City: New York (10 p.m. ET/PT)
For decades, the number of great white sharks in the waters around New York were on the decline. But now, seals are back in New York Harbor. Could the great whites be far behind? Marine biologist Craig O’Connell wants to find out how close they really are, and shows what a future with great white sharks in New York will look like.

• Shark After Dark (11 p.m. ET/PT)

• Special Feature
In addition to regular programming, select theaters nationwide will premiere a brand new 2017 special alongside an unannounced special from last year on Tuesday, July 18th. The Fathom Events screening has been dubbed “Shark Week At the Movies,” allowing mega fans to experience “Shark Week” on a bigger screen than ever before.

Wednesday, July 26

• The Lost Cage (9 p.m. ET/PT)
A team of explorers are dropped into the waters 500 miles into the Gulf of Mexico while floating in a one-of-a-kind shark cage. They’re acting as human lures in the open ocean. Will they encounter its deadliest shark?

• The Great Hammerhead Invasion (10 p.m. ET/PT)
Early November, Giant Hammerheads arrive off Bimini, in the Bahamas. Why does this happen? Leading shark scientist, Tristan Guttridge, tags and follows these normally solitary sharks to discover what’s going on. Many individuals among the sharks appear to be pregnant females, as an ultrasound of a female hammerhead shows. Guttridge believes they over-winter in Bimini to feed the growing young in their bellies. Afterwards, they’ll move to the Florida coast to prey on migrating blacktips, and the evidence is unmistakable.

• Shark After Dark (11 p.m. ET/PT)

Thursday, July 27

• Shark Exile (9 p.m. ET/PT)
In Brazil, Dr. Hazin has been able to successfully reduce the number of shark encounters just by catching and moving sharks out to the open sea. What’s his secret? Could this solution work in Australia, where encounters are a common problem?

• Shark Swarm (10 p.m. ET/PT)
At various times of the year and in different locations worldwide, sharks of different species gather, swarm, and spiral. Dr. Tristan Guttridge studies this activity to find out just what brings them together, and what’s going on in these shark ‘societies.’

• Shark After Dark (11 p.m. ET/PT)

Friday, July 28

• African Shark Safari (9 p.m. ET/PT)
Madagascar is not a known location for great white sharks. In fact, the shark sanctuary here states that both great whites and tigers are ‘extinct’ in Madagascan waters. So why has a great white shark, tagged in South Africa travelled 1500 miles up the African coast to Madagascar? Craig O’Connell and the team journey to this remote island nation to investigate and see if Madagascar is the next big great white shark hotspot.

• Lair of the Sawfish (10 p.m. ET/PT)
Experts demystify one of the sea’s strangest creatures: the sawfish. They look at its evolutionary links to sharks and rays, and to its key role in the marine ecosystem. They aim to bring the sawfish back from the brink of extinction.

Saturday, July 29

• Sharkmania (9 p.m. ET/PT)
A rundown of the greatest moments from Shark Week 2017, featuring the closest calls, biggest bites, greatest gadgets, and viewers’ top picks for the best of Shark Week history.

Sunday, July 30

• Shark School with Michael Phelps (8 p.m. ET/PT)
Michael Phelps joins Doc Gruber and Tristan Guttridge of the Bimini Shark Lab to get a crash course on everything ‘shark’. They’ll dispel the myths and common misconceptions about sharks. They’ll also teach him how to safely dive with sharks, including how to stay calm when a hammerhead swims two feet above his face. And, they will get Michael Phelps up close and personal with the incredible power of a Great White.

Where Can I Watch Shark Week 2017?

Apart from Discovery Channel, you can watch/purchase episodes on services like:

• Google Play Movies & TV
• YouTube
• Amazon Video
• iTunes
• Hulu