Shark Week 2020 Features More Science, Stars, and Sharks Than Ever

By: Discovery

SHARK WEEK returns August 9 with special appearances by stars like Mike Tyson, Will Smith, and Shaquille O'Neil!

Updated: July 31, 2020

July 24, 2020

The best week of the year is almost here! With more than 20 hours of shark programming throughout the week, SHARK WEEK 2020’s fin-credible lineup will bring brand-new, innovative shark research technology and compelling insight on some of the most unique shark species in the world. This year, we'll travel from Australia to South Africa to New Zealand in search of the world's most incredible shark stories. See the full lineup below!

Air Jaws: Ultimate Breach Off

Sunday, August 9 at 8P

Three teams of researchers return to one of the last hunting grounds for AIR JAWS. They will use decoys, drones, and underwater cameras to count the number of breaches and collect data on hunting techniques to see if the shark population is rebounding.

Tyson vs. Jaws: Rumble on the Reef

Sunday, August 9 at 9P

Legendary boxer and entrepreneur Mike Tyson is taking on a new challenge, and he picked the most unlikely training partner. Iron Mike will go head to head with some of the ocean's top apex predators, including the black tip reef shark. With famed ring announcer Michael Buffer calling the shots, these two heavyweights will square off underwater, where Mike Tyson will try to score a TKO over the massive shark… all in the name of research. And don’t worry, no sharks were harmed (or bitten) in the making of this episode.

Shark Lockdown

Sunday, August 9 at 10P

In the waters off New Zealand, the largest female great whites are measuring over 20ft long, earning the nickname “the 747s.” With no human interaction during COVID-19, researchers built a self-propelled cage to see how hunting patterns have changed.

Abandoned Waters

Monday, August 10 at 8P

COVID-19 has changed the world’s behavior and that has presented shark researchers with a once in a lifetime opportunity to study the massive great whites at Australia’s Neptune Islands. With no human interaction for the first time in decades, some of the biggest great white sharks on earth are returning to their natural behaviors…allowing scientists to study them up close and personal in ways that were nearly impossible before.

ShaqAttack

Monday, August 10 at 9P

After surviving a shark encounter in Shaq Does Shark Week, Shaquille O’Neal is back, and now he’s on a mission to determine what shark has the perfect predatory attack. But he can’t do it alone. Shaq is deploying YouTube stars Dude Perfect and Mark Rober to put various species to the test and uncover the most mind-blowing hunting techniques of this ultimate predator.

Jaws Awakens

Monday, August 10 at 10P

Shark expert Chris Fallows joins Jeff Kurr and Dickie Chivell to search for the largest male great white shark in the world. Together, Chris, Jeff, and Dickie explore the waters of New Zealand trying to find a nearly 20-foot long, two-ton shark named Fred.

Extinct or Alive: Land of the Lost Sharks

Tuesday, August 11 at 8P

Wildlife biologist and conservationist Forrest Galante dives into some of the most treacherous, shark-infested waters in the southern hemisphere all in an attempt to rediscover three unique sharks lost to science for as long as 100 years.

Will Smith: Off The Deep End

Tuesday, August 11 at 9P

Will Smith is diving headfirst into action, excitement, and shark-infested waters, as he confronts his fear of the open seas and the open jaws of nature’s fiercest predators.

Sneak Peek at Shark Week 2020 18 Photos

SHARK WEEK, television’s longest-running, and most anticipated summer event returns with bigger sharks and breathtaking breaches on Sunday, August 9 and continues through Sunday, August 16. Here's a sneak peek at what to expect.

Great White Serial Killer Extinction

Tuesday, August 11 at 10P

The Great White Serial Killer returns and it's on a killing spree that may push the California Sea Otter to extinction. Investigators deploy an otter dummy to get a closer look and witness one of the most spectacular attacks in Shark Week history.

Monster Under the Bridge

Wednesday, August 12 at 8P

Scientists believe that monster sharks make their home under the Old Seven Mile Bridge. Fishermen claim that one of the sharks is a 15-foot-long, half-ton great hammerhead named Big Moe. If this is true, he will be the largest hammerhead on the planet.

Adam Devine’s Secret Shark Lair

Wednesday, August 12 at 9P

Last year, Adam Devine and a team of marine biologists deployed a CATS camera tag on a massive tiger shark that yielded a surprising scientiﬁc discovery; a secret tiger shark lair. Scientists believe this may be the largest congregation of tiger sharks on the planet or in Adam's mind, the ultimate shark party!

Great White Double Trouble

Wednesday, August 12 at 10P

Australia is in the midst of a rising wave of shark attacks, with great whites leading the way. Scientists have just discovered that Aussies are facing not one population of great whites, but two! Researchers want to know who rules the waters.

Air Jaws 2020

Thursday, August 13 at 8P

Shark Week celebrates 20 years of flying sharks with Jeff Kurr, Chris Fallows, Dickie Chivell, and many more as they revisit the most popular and iconic "Air Jaws" moments.

Sharkadelic Summer

Thursday, August 13 at 9P

Snoop Dogg takes a look at why Great White Sharks are taking up residence along America's shores. Will this be the "sharkiest" summer in US history? In this special, Snoop will breakdown the craziest shark encounters caught on tape, marvel at the wild and unpredictable reactions, and meet with the leading experts who are trying to unlock the secrets behind this great white shark invasion.

Mako Nation

Thursday, August 13 at 10P

Shark scientist Riley Elliot and underwater cameraman Andy Casagrande are on an epic expedition to uncover the mysteries of the mako shark in one of the last places on earth where these apex predators rule the waters.

Alien Sharks: First Contact

Friday, August 14 at 8P

Mysterious and bizarre alien sharks lurk far beneath the waves in remarkably deep waters where researchers are on a quest to make first contact. Pursuing the elusive frilled shark, sleeper shark and cookie-cutter shark bring even more unexpected encounters.

Lair of the Great White

Friday, August 14 at 9P

A team of experts attempts to find out why a population of great whites off the coast of Western Australia is so much more aggressive than others. The team must brave the elements and venture into treacherous underwater caves to find out for themselves. Produced by TaleSmith Ltd.

Tiger Shark King

Friday, August 14 at 10P

In the Caribbean, a deepsea camera captured footage of a 14-foot tiger shark suffering an assault by a large, unseen beast. It could be an unknown species of mega-shark or even a cannibalistic tiger shark. Dr. Austin Gallagher wants to find out.

I Was Prey

Friday, August 14 at 11P

Two adventure seekers recount their horrifying shark attack experiences. Off the coast of Australia, a spearfishing expedition turns into a nightmare featuring a ferocious bull shark and a great white attacks a paddle boarder on Ascension Island.

Sharks of Ghost Island

Saturday, August 15 at 8P

On the edge of the Bermuda Triangle lies Ghost Island, a place locals have abandoned after multiple shipwrecks and shark attacks. Dr. Craig O'Connell has been here before to study the potential shark hot spot, but his first trip ended abruptly when his boat nearly sank. Now Craig is back with a team of experts and they are determined to find why this island attracts so many sharks, even the great white.

Wicked Sharks

Saturday, August 15 at 9P

As the number of great white shark encounters on Cape Cod spikes, shark expert Dr. Greg Skomal breaks out cutting-edge tech to capture the white shark’s point-of-view – revealing exactly how and where they hunt in the summer to better protect the public.

Sharks Gone Wild 3

Saturday, August 15 at 10P

Everything you always wanted to know about viral shark videos but were afraid to ask! SHARKS GONE WILD 3 reviews everything from viral videos and the biggest news stories to the latest in cutting-edge shark science.

I Was Prey: Terrors from the Deep

Saturday, August 15 at 11P

A California surfer, a Canadian thrill-seeker, an Alabama football coach, and a mother from North Carolina reveal how they each came face-to-face with the ocean's top predator and lived to tell their stories.

Naked & Afraid of Sharks 2

Sunday, August 16 at 8P

On the edge of the Bermuda Triangle, five Naked and Afraid veterans -- Matt Wright, Jeff Zausch, Serena and Amber Shine, and Alex Maynard – attempt to survive on a remote strip of islands whose waters are so teeming with predators, locals call it “Shark Alley.” With limited resources and punishing conditions on land, they’ll have no choice but to take to the waters and compete with hungry sharks for the same food.

Fans can dive into all things SHARK WEEK at SharkWeek.com, from bonus video to amazing shark photography and more. Catch up on classic episodes by downloading the Discovery GO app, join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #SharkWeek and follow SHARK WEEK on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Next Up

Shark Week: The Podcast - How Smart Are Sharks?

The discussion turns this week to sharks’ intelligence, and how it varies among species. Host Luke Tipple is joined by Dr. Tristan Guttridge, a behavioral ecologist and veteran of Shark Week whose research has tackled the social smarts, and even personalities, of different kinds of sharks. He sheds light on why we shouldn’t just think of them as dumb fish with rows of razor-sharp teeth. And at the end, our researcher Sierra Kehoe tells us about shark hypnosis.

Shark Week: The Podcast - Shipwrecked & Surrounded by Sharks

This week, we do things a little differently, as Shark Week’s Luke Tipple invites Adventure Aaron into the podcast studio to talk about his incredible near-death experience on the open water. Adventure Aaron gets into what it takes to circumnavigate the world in an ocean rowboat, what it’s like to stare eye-to-eye with an oceanic white tip that probably wants you for lunch, and everything else that happened to him when his boat was capsized, and he was lost by himself at sea.

Shark Week: The Podcast - Do Scientists Need to Kill Sharks?

Host Luke Tipple welcomes two guests to discuss how researchers can kill sharks in the name of science – and whether they need to at all. The first is Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, shark researcher and founder of Atlantic Shark Expeditions, and an expert on data-gathering in the field. He’s followed by explorer Fred Buyle, a world-record-breaking freediver whose innovative methods of shark tagging are explored. Plus, our researcher Sierra tells us about how a 50-year study changed our understanding of tiger sharks – and much of the work wasn’t even done by scientists.

Shark Week: The Podcast - How Shark Fishing Funds Human Trafficking

Luke Tipple is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the Outlaw Ocean Ian Urbina, who has dedicated his life to chronicling crime on the high seas. They discuss the state of our world’s oceans, how nearly 20% of your seafood was likely caught illegally, and the surprising link between modern slavery and the killing of sharks.

Shark Week: The Podcast - Lights! Camera! TEETH! Making Shark Docs

Shark Week’s Luke Tipple is joined by longtime filmmaker and Emmy-award-winner Andy Casagrande. He’s filmed and appeared in dozens of shark documentaries, and might just be the most prolific shark cinematographer in history. He talks with Luke about his career, the contentious term “shark porn,” and the future of the industry. And at the end, our researcher Sierra talks about the unprecedented ways that sharks are currently endangered.

Shark Week: The Podcast - How To Have A Career in Shark Science

Shark Week’s Luke Tipple tackles the question “How can I work with sharks?” alongside two experts in the field – and their answers are not always the obvious ones. Luke is joined first by Kelly Link, Associate Curator of the Georgia Aquarium who talks about what it’s like to be an aquarist, how it differs from field work, and how to get yourself noticed. The second guest is Dr. Neil Hammerschlag who goes into detail on what it takes to become a prominent scientist, and what other paths you can take if a PhD isn’t for you. And at the end, researcher Sierra stops by to tell us about the world’s smallest shark.

Shark Week: The Podcast - Undiscovered Sharks and the State of the Ocean

Luke Tipple invites “The Lost Shark Guy,” Dr. Dave Ebert, who is personally responsible for finding dozens of shark species that were either previously unknown to science or thought to be extinct. He and Luke discuss why shark populations are a direct indicator of how healthy the ocean is, how to find undiscovered sharks, and why diversity in sharks is essential for marine life.

Shark Week: The Podcast - How Many Sharks Are Yet to Be Discovered?

Luke Tipple is joined by Shark Week host and all-around adventurer Forrest Galante. They discuss his upcoming special Alien Sharks: South Africa, Forrest’s remarkable talent for finding creatures once believed to be extinct, and how many shark species may still be unknown. Then, our researcher Sierra stops by to tell us about the world’s most prehistoric shark.

Shark Week: The Podcast - What is the Status of Sharks in our Oceans?

In this season’s final episode, Luke welcomes Emmy-winning filmmaker and conservationist Shawn Heinrichs to discuss the state of sharks in the ocean. They go over how both legal and illegal fishing operations are decimating the ocean’s wildlife, what it’s like to have a hit put out on you for exposing criminal enterprises to the world, and whether or not NOAA’s data on “sustainable” fishing can really be trusted.

Shark Week: The Podcast - Why is Tagging Baby Great White Sharks So Important?

Luke Tipple speaks with Dr. Riley Elliott, a marine biologist from New Zealand who recently tagged baby great white sharks, which are rarely seen in the wild. They talk about how climate change is affecting shark pupping grounds, why fishers are wrong to think there are “too many sharks,” and about Dr. Elliott’s Great White App, which allows users to track great white sharks in the ocean.