Wolf takes on sharks for Discovery
NEW YORK — Comic Josh Wolf may not want to hear the word “shark” after next week, much less bump into one.
Discovery has given him a unique assignment: host an hour-long talk show for five nights in a row on the menacing beast, a new wrinkle in the network’s annual Shark Week.
Shark After Dark will debut Sunday at 8 p.m.
Wolf, who’s a recurring character on Fox’s Raising Hope and perhaps best known as a regular guest on E! Entertainment’s Chelsea Lately, said he’s looking forward to the challenge.
“Not only have I always been fascinated with Shark Week, I’ve always wanted to do a late-night talk thing,” he said. “That’s been on the bucket list. This kills two birds with one stone.”
So how do you fill an hour each night with chatter about a creature that does all its talking with its teeth?
Wolf will open each night with a shark monologue. He’ll talk about the Shark Week programs that Discovery aired that night and bring in some shark experts and celebrities. One booked guest is actor Tara Reid, who starred in the Syfy network’s Sharknado movie earlier this summer. There are limits, though. “You can’t do an hour of shark jokes,” Wolf said. “Trust me.”
So he expects Shark After Dark will be more expansive than the title. Craig Ferguson is the show’s executive producer, and Wolf said the latenight host’s interviewing style is an inspiration. “He lets the conversation go where it goes,” he said. “That’s what I hope to do, too.”
“It’s shameful that the shark demographic has been neglected for so long by late-night TV,” Ferguson said. “I’m delighted to be making a show that combines comedy, witty chat and ferocious biting predators.”
Shark After Dark is part of Discovery’s effort to promote Shark Week as a pop culture event, said Michael Sorensen, the network’s senior director of programming. Discovery can only hope for ratings success that mirrors its promotion; its cheeky ad about a giant shark ruining the return of Snuffy the seal to the ocean has received more than five million streams online.
The idea behind Shark After Dark is that Shark Week is a party and people just want to be invited, [so] let’s continue the experience into a talk show,” Sorensen said.