Shark Week is a television event unlike any other. With origins dating back to the ’80s, this annual week of premium shark programming has attracted a fanbase of its own and become a trusted source of online meme-age. It happens every year in July or August on the Discovery Channel and is now also available on the streaming platform Max.
The first ever Shark Week happened in July 1988. Interest in the large menacing fish had increased since the release of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws in 1975, and Discovery executives John Hendricks, Clark Bunting, and Steve Cheskin wanted to capitalize on it, as well as deconstruct the hysteria the film had created around the fascinating animals through fact-based documentaries. The legend goes that they came up with the idea of Shark Week while brainstorming in a bar after work, and wrote it down on a cocktail napkin.
The types of programs have evolved over the years, going from being reliant primarily on first-person testimony to featuring groundbreaking imagery of the predators thanks to the advent of technology like that of Air Jaws. In the ‘90s, Shark Week started having guest appearances by famous personalities from different areas, including Jaws author Peter Benchley. In 2018, it was hosted by Shaquille O’Neal, followed by Rob Riggle, Josh Gates, and Dwayne Johnson.
In recent decades, Shark Week has been accused of moving away from its documentary origins to become increasingly fictitious and sensationalist. Shows like Monster Hammerhead and the two Megalodon specials were at the receiving end of backlash for spreading false narratives of mythological sharks still roaming the waters today.
In 2023, the 35th edition of Shark Week will take place between 23 and 30 July and will be hosted by Jason Momoa.