Video/News: Discovery Channel's SHARK WEEK Returns Sunday, June 26

UPDATED: Mon. June 6, 2016 – Shark Week 2016 Schedule

DISCOVERY ANNOUNCES ‘SHARK WEEK’ 2016 SCHEDULE

PREMIERING SUNDAY, JUNE 26 TO SUNDAY, JULY 3



(Los Angeles, CA) SHARK WEEK, television’s longest running and most anticipated summer event returns to Discovery Channel from Sunday, June 26 to Sunday, July 3. SHARK WEEK celebrates its 28th anniversary with all-new jaw-dropping and compelling shark stories and, for the first time ever, offering an immersive virtual reality experience.

Additionally, for five consecutive nights from Sunday, June 26 to Thursday, June 30, award-winning film director, producer, writer and actor Eli Roth (“Inglourious Basterds, “The Green Inferno,” and “Knock Knock”, amongst other projects) returns as host of SHARK WEEK’s hit late-night talk show Shark After Dark for a second year in a row.

Below is the air schedule for SHARK WEEK 2016 (All Times Eastern/Pacific):

TIGER BEACH – Airing Sunday, June 26 at 8PM ET/PT

Dr. Neil Hammerschlag is the world’s leading tiger shark expert. Now, he’s 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 they’re 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.

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 white’s secrets… 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 – and live!

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 Northwest… 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 8th 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”), it turns out 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 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

We scour the seas to bring you the greatest moments from SHARK WEEK 2016! Only the closest calls, biggest bites, and greatest gadgets made the cut! Then, we’re revealing your top picks for the best of SHARK WEEK history.

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.

SHARK WEEK 2016 Programming Schedule

(All times ET/PT, except as noted)

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

In a press release:

IT’S ALL SHARK N’ AWE WHEN ‘SHARK WEEK’ RETURNS ON

SUNDAY, JUNE 26 ON DISCOVERY

(Los Angeles, Calif.) – SHARK WEEK is back with shark n’ awe when it returns Sunday, June 26 at 8:00 PM ET/PT and continues through Sunday, July 3.SHARK WEEK, television’s longest running and most anticipated summer event will make a huge splash this this summer with all-new compelling and jaw-dropping shark stories and shark technology.

This year, SharkCam dives deeper than ever before and follows giant great whites into the dark ocean to record never-before-seen behaviors. For the first time ever, sharks will face off with dolphins, seals, crocodiles and even humans, as one science team finds themselves surrounded by a gang of large tiger sharks.

Additionally, SharkWeek.com will be the hub for all SHARK WEEK action online this year, and will include daily news and updates, Sharkopedia the ultimate online guide to sharks, Web exclusive video, the ever-popular Shark Cams, photos and additional multiplatform features. Social media users will be able to join the conversation across Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter.

Discovery Channel is working with nearly two dozen of the world’s most respected marine biologists and science institutions to reveal remarkable new insights into these magnificent creatures. SHARK WEEK2016 will entertain and inform Discovery Channel viewers while continuing to draw attention to the plight of sharks and the rising threats they face around the world through multi-platform content and campaigns, produced in conjunction with SHARK WEEK conservation partnerships.

Shark Week 2016 | Starts Sun June 26 8/7c