Shark Week, Sharkfest go head to head this summer.
TV’s longest running summer staple, Shark Week, again treats us to the world’s most spectacular beaches and oceans, along with awe-inspiring footage of enormous sharks that live and stalk beneath the waves.
Discovery Channel’s annual extravaganza, which has been thrilling viewers for more than three decades, is running a new hourlong show that helps celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Air Jaws,” an audience favorite. It promises lots more amazing shots of magnificent great whites bursting out of the ocean, their powerful jaws filled with prey.
And 23 more primetime films will air throughout the week, which showcase more great whites and other sharks — hammerheads, tigers and more — in the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, not to mention U.S. destinations, such as Florida and Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
The final bite happens at 7 p.m. Aug. 16 when five veterans of the TV series “Naked and Afraid” star in “Naked and Afraid of Sharks 2,” located off the Bermuda Triangle in an area teeming with predators.
But that’s not all the ocean trouble in store this summer. Nat Geo Wild also rolls out a passel of shark shows, the last gulp of National Geographic’s annual Sharkfest.
Fans of the movie “Jaws” may be drawn to shocking recollections, actual footage and dramatizations of attacks by real great whites, not to mention looks at the severe injuries suffered by surfers.
Another hour is devoted to weird varieties of sharks, such as the goblin, with its long snout and razor-sharp teeth; and the carpet species, which blends into the plant life and sand before unleashing its lethal bite on unsuspecting prey.
David Portnoy, an esteemed shark expert out of Corpus Christi who’s featured in another of Shark Week’s new specials, said such adventurous television may be even more enticing now when beach vacations and other travel plans are being shelved because of coronavirus-related restrictions.
“I bet the viewership goes up,” said Portnoy, an associate professor of marine biology at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. “We need shows right now to distract us and remind us of things we would have done normally.”
Portnoy lends his expertise to “Monster Under the Bridge,” a “Shark Week” documentary that focuses on some of the largest hammerheads in existence. He’s no stranger to hammerheads, particularly the scalloped variety that is prevalent in Texas coastal waters.
In “Monster,” which airs at 7 p.m. Aug. 12 on Discovery, a team of shark researchers travel to the Old Seven Mile Bridge, an overseas highway that connects mainland Florida
to the Florida Keys.
Under and around the structure, divers pursue what they call monster sharks. The largest, the legendary Big Moe, is said to measure 18 to 20 feet and weigh close to a ton.
Their boats glide across shimmering turquoise water before they don diving gear and get to the heart of their mission: to gather DNA from massive hammerheads in hopes of finding out whether these sharks are indeed a whole new mega-species.
In the film, shark scientist Tristan Guttridge explains that their size may be a result of the many areas in shadow under the bridge, which allow these huge predators to rest in, and launch attacks from, the darkness.
The bridge is a kind of artificial reef, luring in other large fish, such as tarpon and goliath grouper. As we see in astonishing underwater footage, one of these tarpons provides a hefty meal for a great hammerhead.
After obtaining their specimens, the team delivers them to Portnoy, who’s described as one of the leading geneticists in the country.
“When it comes to sharks, he’s the man you go to,” Guttridge says.
It’s Portnoy’s role to help prove or disprove the theory that these hammerheads might actually be a new lineage of shark.
You will have to watch to find out. The screener Discovery supplied to TV writers did not include the big DNA reveal.
“You’re not going to believe the results; they’re really interesting,” Portnoy
tells Guttridge and his team.
As for Shark Week as a whole, Portnoy heaped praise on the programming.
“It engages the public in ways that are difficult to do otherwise,” he said. “Having this type of programming helps people become interested in the natural world and sciences and gain a better understanding of how things work. That’s very important.”
Shark Week also can be lots of fun to watch. Some of these specials even show celebrities, such as Shaquille O’Neal (8 p.m. Aug. 10) and Will Smith (8 p.m. Aug. 11), taking on sharks.
Here are five more intriguing Shark Week and Sharkfest goodies to look for:
“Abandoned Waters” (Discovery): This special helps illustrate how the global lockdown and reduced amount of human activity on the seas has given sharks in Australia the opportunity to reclaim their habitats. Some of the biggest great whites are returning to their natural behaviors, allowing scientists to study them in ways that previously were nearly impossible. 7 p.m. Aug. 10.
“World’s Biggest Tiger Shark” (Nat Geo Wild): Acclaimed marine biologist and diver Kori Garza engages in breathtaking encounters with tiger sharks in a remote lagoon in French Polynesia. Her mission is to find what’s believed to be the world’s largest member of this species, Kamakai. 8 p.m. Aug. 11.
“Shark vs. Surfer (Nat Geo Wild): The beaches and oceans may be breathtaking in this show, but it’s not recommended for the squeamish. As skillful as a surfer may be, they are no match for the sharp jaws among the waves. In some of the most shark-infested surf spots around the world, we hear harrowing attack stories from survivors. 8 p.m. Aug. 13
“Tiger Shark King” (Discovery): Though the title is clearly a riff on the Netflix hit, this underwater hour looks to be spookier as world-renowned marine scientist Austin Gallagher descends into the murky depths of the Caribbean. You will be holding your breath in wonder, if not fear, as he witnesses a 14-foot tiger shark being assaulted by an unseen beast that’s thought to be either a cannibalistic tiger or an unknown variety of megashark. 9 p.m. Aug. 14.
“What the Shark?” (Nat Geo Wild): Think you know all about sharks? You may change your mind after viewing the strange varieties in this special. It explores both shallow waters and 8,000foot abysses, presenting strange varieties of predators that look as if they belong in monster movies rather than the ocean. 9 p.m. Aug. 20.