Shark Week 2021: Your Guide to the Annual TV Event and How to Watch on Discovery Plus

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ET has exclusive previews of Discovery Channel’s summer TV event featuring new specials starring Tiffany Haddish and more.

Discovery Channel’s Shark Week is back to rule the summer. The annual TV event returns for its 33rd year with more originals about the rulers of the water world starring Tiffany Haddish, musician Brad Paisley, Sharknado duo Ian Ziering and Tara Reid, William Shatner and more. Kicking off on Sunday, July 11 with an all-new special hosted by Robert Irwin, audiences can look forward to 45 hours of shark programming. 

While most programs and specials are premiering on Discovery Channel, this year there will be exclusives only available on the streaming platform Discovery+. Additionally, all of 2021’s shows will be available to stream the same day or next day. Check out the full schedule below and ET’s exclusive previews of Haddish, Irwin, Paisley, Shatner and more interacting with the underwater predators.  

ET Exclusive Previews

Tiffany Haddish Does Shark Week 

Watch on Discovery Channel: Sunday, July 11 at 9PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Sunday, July 11

While the host of Shark Week’s fantasy was to uncover the secrets of shark sex sailing on the fanciest yachts surrounded by friendly sea creatures and pampered by a handsome merman, she's joined by Dr. Toby Daly-Engel, Dr. Craig O’Connell, Alannah Vellacott for a very sharky wake-up call.

Crikey! It’s Shark Week 

Watch on Discovery Channel: Sunday, July 11 at 8PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Sunday, July 11

Robert Irwin comes face to face with a Great White Shark for the first time ever with shark conservationists Paul de Gelder and Madison Stewart. Following in his father's footsteps, he will get as close as possible to these incredible creatures to determine which apex predator reigns supreme: crocs or Great Whites? 

Expedition Unknown: Shark Trek 

Watch on Discovery Channel: Monday, July 12 at 10PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Monday, July 12
 
Josh Gates links up with his childhood hero, William Shatner, to boldly go where Shark Week has never gone before. The mission: enter shark-infested waters to understand the nature of fear and come face to face with an apex predator. This is Shark Trek.

The Real Sharknado

Watch on Discovery Channel: Wednesday, July 14 at 9PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Wednesday, July 14
 
We have all seen the movies, sharks jumping into boats, circling in tornados, and risking their lives to attack humans. Could these shark feasts happen? Ian Ziering and Tara Reid pick up their chainsaws once again – this time with the help of Dr. Tristan Guttridge and to see if a real Sharknado could happen. 

Brad Paisley’s Shark Country

Watch on Discovery Channel: Tuesday, July 13 at 9PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Tuesday, July 13

Country star Brad Paisley and comedian JB Smoove meet in the Bahamas to attract new fans, sharks! With Dr. Austin Gallagher's help, they put Brad's musical talents to the test in shark-infested waters to see how sound can attract or repel sharks.

The Full Lineup

Sharkbait With David Dobrik 

Discovery Channel

Stream on Discovery+: Sunday, July 11

The internet sensation and his friends are on the craziest adventure yet as they go diving with sharks. When faced with bad weather and sharks larger than they expected, these twentysomethings quickly find themselves asking, "Why did we go on Shark Week?" 

Jackass Shark Week

Jackass Shark Week airs July 11 at 10PM ET/PT on Discovery and streaming on discovery+ - Discovery Channel

Watch on Discovery Channel: Sunday, July 11 at 10PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Sunday, July 11

Johnny Knoxville sends Steve-O, Chris Pontius and new Jackass cast members on a Shark Week mission for the ages. They'll dial up a series of shark stunts that test their bravery and threshold of pain as they put common shark myths to the test with the help of Dr. Craig O’Connell. 

Stranger Sharks

Discovery Channel

Stream on Discovery+: Monday, July 12

Mark Rober and Noah Schnapp from Stranger Things are teaming up for the ultimate Shark Week adventure: exploring abandoned undersea ruins and man-made artificial reefs searching for the strangest sharks in the ocean.

Air Jaws: Going for Gold

Watch on Discovery Channel: Monday, July 12 at 8PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Monday, July 12

Narrated by Chris Rose, the Air Jaws team, Alison Towner, Dickie Chivell, Chris Fallows, and Enrico Gennari return to Seal Rock to capture the highest breach ever recorded. Rocket Shark holds the record at 15 feet. Will he return to jump even higher, or will a new shark take the World's Highest Flying Great White Shark title? 

Jaws Awakens: Phred vs. Slash

Watch on Discovery Channel: Monday, July 12 at 9PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Monday, July 12
 
Rumor has it that two of the largest sharks in existence have been recently roaming New Zealand waters, but nobody knows which one is the largest. Brandon McMillan and Dickie Chivell are heading out to see which one takes the cake, Phred or Slash? 

Great White Comeback

Stream on Discovery+: Tuesday, July 13

In 2017, one of the strangest ocean mysteries occurred in South Africa when an entire Great White population disappeared overnight. Alison Towner and her team, Enrico Gennari and Andy Casagrande head out on an epic investigation to find the missing Great Whites of Seal Island.

Fin

Stream on Discovery+: Tuesday, July 13

Eli Roth and a professional group of scientists, researchers and activists sail around the globe to unveil the truth behind the death of millions of sharks, exposing the criminal enterprise that is impacting the extinction of the misunderstood creatures.

MotherSharker

Watch on Discovery Channel: Tuesday, July 13 at 8PM ET/PT
Stream on discovery+: Tuesday, July 13
 
It's a great mystery where tiger sharks give birth. One team of scientists and shark experts including Dr. James Sulikowski, Dr. Toby Daly-Engel, Dr. Neil Hammerschlag and Jamin Martinelli deploy an arsenal of new technology to find out, but they need to meet some of the Bahamas' biggest tiger shark mothers face-to-face for it to work. 

The Spawn of El Diablo

Watch on Discovery Channel: Tuesday, July 13 at 10PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Wednesday, July 14
 
In 2012, Michelle Jewell documented one of the largest great white mating scars ever recorded. Recently similar marks have appeared, leading her to believe this is a possible mating ground and that mega-shark El Diablo has returned to South Africa. 

Tiger Queen

Stream on Discovery+: Wednesday, July 14

The shark population in Turks and Caicos has a sizable concentration of female tiger sharks, leaving scientists wondering where all the males are hiding. Shark enthusiast Kinga Philipps joins Dr. Austin Gallagher to help solve this puzzling mystery.

MechaShark

Watch on Discovery Channel:  Wednesday, July 14 at 8PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Wednesday, July 14
 
Researchers Kina Scollay, Mark Erdmann and Al Baxter build a submersible mechanical shark to track down New Zealand’s monster great whites and pilot it deep into what they believe could be a mating ground, the Holy Grail of shark science. 

Return to Lair of the Great White

Watch on Discovery Channel: Wednesday, July 14 at 10PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Thursday, July 15
 
Dr. Craig O'Connell and Marc Payne return to where they unexpectedly filmed a juvenile great white during a past mission. Believing there's a nursery nearby, they follow the trail to a discovery that could change everything we know about great whites.

Raging Bulls 

Stream on Discovery+: Thursday, July 15
 
Bull sharks are one of Australia's "Big 3" deadly shark species, and recently, there's been a shift in their behavior concerning the human population. Paul De Gelder joins Johan Gustafson to uncover why these sharks are becoming more aggressive hunters. 

Dr. Pimple Popper Pops Shark Week

Watch on Discovery Channel: Thursday, July 15 at 8PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Thursday, July 15
 
Dr. Sandra Lee has entertained millions with her extreme pimple popping videos. Now she heads to Turks and Caicos with Dr. Austin Gallagher to explore the world of shark skin and how she can apply the science they gather to help human skin issues. 

Sharkadelic Summer 2 

Watch on Discovery Channel: Thursday, July 15 at 9PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Thursday, July 15
 
Sharkadelic is back to find out if this summer will be the sharkiest on record. Snoop Dogg breaks down the craziest encounters, the wildest and most unpredictable reactions to discover if America is once again ground zero for the shark superstorm. 

Mega Jaws of Bird Island

Watch on Discovery Channel: Thursday, July 15 at 10PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Friday, July 16
 
South African Great whites are on the brink of extinction, but experts believe there is at least one breeder shark left in the water surrounding Bird Island. Alison Towner, Chris Fallows, Dickie Chivell and Enrico Gennari will search and tag the last female great white mature enough to carry on the species. 

Extinct or Alive: Jaws of Alaska

Stream on Discovery+: Friday, July 16

International wildlife biologist Forrest Galante travels the world in search of rare and elusive wildlife, including those lost to science, and mysterious cold-water sharks. 

Ninja Sharks: Mutants Rising 

Watch on Discovery Channel: Airing Friday, July 16 at 8PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Friday, July 16

In the icy waters of Alaska, off populated beaches of New York, and lurking in ghostly shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina, scientists and shark experts Dr. Craig O’Connell, Joe and Lauren Romeiro, Avery Paxton, Madeline Marens and Hap Fatzinger have discovered three sharks that have developed unique and deadly ninja skills.

Monster Sharks of Andros Island

Watch on Discovery Channel: Friday, July 16 at 9PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Friday, July 16

Shark researchers Dr. Tristan Guttridge, Annie Guttridge, Alannah Vellacott and Khrys Carroll travel to Andros Island to determine if it's a new Great Hammerhead hotspot, and they're using reports of a half-octopus, half-shark creature known as the Lusca to help them locate massive sharks for their study.

Mystery of the Black Demon Shark

Watch on Discovery Channel: Friday, July 16 at 10PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Saturday, July 17 

In Mexico, legends swirl around El Demonio Negro, a 50-foot shark that has terrorized fisherman and tourists alike for generations. Is this an undiscovered predator? Forrest Galante hunts for answers in the most rugged and remote parts of the Baja Peninsula. 

I Was Prey: Terrors of the Deep 2

Watch on Discovery Channel:  Friday, July 16 at 11PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Saturday, July 17 

Two adventure seekers recount their horrifying shark attack experiences.

Rogue Tiger Shark: The Hunt for Lagertha 

Stream on Discovery+: Saturday, July 17

A monster lurks in the crystal blue waters off the coast of Costa Rica named Lagertha. In this epic adventure, Dr. Craig O’Connell, Vicky Vasquez, and Andy Casagrande team up to discover why the tiger sharks in this area are unexpectedly more aggressive. 

Return to Shark Vortex 

Watch on Discovery Channel: Saturday, July 17 at 8PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Saturday, July 17

As the Shark Vortex retreats in the fall, sharks battle it out for dominance in New England’s icy waters. Experts Dr. Greg Skomal, Joe and Lauren Romeiro brave rough oceans and fierce predators to capture new footage and insight of the phantom shark and reveal which shark reigns supreme. 

Shark Week Best In Show 

Watch on Discovery Channel: Saturday, July 17 at 9PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Sunday, July 18

Discover everything that has happened in the world of sharks this year including unbelievable viral videos, big news stories and the latest in cutting-edge shark science. 

I Was Prey: Shark Week 2021 

Watch on Discovery Channel: Saturday, July 17 at 10PM ET/PT
Stream on Discovery+: Saturday, July 17

I Was Prey: Shark Week 2021 recounts two horrific shark attacks told solely by the survivors who overcame life and death circumstances to tell their stories. 

The Great Hammerhead Stakeout 

Stream on Discovery+: Sunday, July 18

Dr. Tristan Guttridge and James Glancy travel to Andros Island to investigate reports of an exclusive population of giant hammerheads. To get answers, they attempt one of the longest shark dives EVER – upwards of 10 hours – using an underwater habitat.

Envoy: Shark Cull

Stream on Discovery+: Sunday, July 18

Narrated by Eric Bana, the doc follows the biggest names in ocean conservation, such as Sea Shepherd, Ocean Ramsey and Madison Stewart as they reveal the importance of sharks in our oceans while uncovering the longest marine cull in history.

Additional Programming

Watch on Discovery+: Starting July 1

The Sharknado series, Mega Shark vs. Octopus, Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark, 2-Head Shark Attack, 3-Headed Shark Attack as well as Return to Headstone Hell, Mega Predators of Oz and Return to Shark Vortex.

 

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