Shark Week 2018 schedule: Your guide to all 22 specials

Dare to dive into scary waters, as Discovery unleashes 22 specials about the mighty, misunderstood predators for the 30th edition of Shark Week. (And don’t forget the nightly installments of wrap-up talk show Shark After Dark at 11 p.m. ET/PT!) This year’s eight-day Jaws jam, which runs from July 22-29, is chummed with all sorts of famous faces. “Sharks are the stars of Shark Week, but to celebrate the 30th anniversary, we assembled a fintastic supporting cast, including Ronda Rousey, Aaron Rodgers, Lindsey Vonn, Shaq, and Guy Fieri,” says Discovery boss Nancy Daniels. “We might need to find a bigger boat!” Indeed — the Shark Tank sharks and Bear Grylls are also hopping aboard to scour the seas. Scroll cautiously through the following photos to find out what’s about to swim your way, including a special in which Shaq attempts to overcome his fear of sharks.

AIRS: Sunday, July 22 at 7 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “To flying jaws… to flailing saws… from ghostly green eyes… unbelievable adaptations… and unique mutations… Deep below the ocean’s surface live some of the strangest creatures and most frightening sharks on Earth. And the deeper you go, the more mysterious they get. In Alien Sharks: Greatest Hits, we’re recounting the biggest discoveries, weirdest adaptations, and most memorable moments from the past five years of Alien Sharks.”

AIRS: Sunday, July 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “We’ve seen Bear Grylls survive almost every land-based scenario imaginable, but in Bear VS Shark, Bear takes on a whole new set of challenges against the ocean’s most powerful predators. And in typical Bear Grylls fashion, he pushes the limits beyond anything we’ve seen in the history of Shark Week. Chumming from a helicopter? Check. Diving into a feeding frenzy? Check. Human bait? Check!”

AIRS: Sunday, July 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “In the hopes of securing the ultimate symbol of fame and fortune — your very own week — Shaquille O’Neal inadvertently signed himself up to be thrust into the teeth of the 30th Anniversary of Shark Week. There’s only one problem. Shaq doesn’t do Sharks. To overcome his fear of sharks, he’s gonna need some help — enter Ex-Navy/Marine and comedian Rob Riggle, who will help train him for the big plunge.”

AIRS: Sunday, July 22, 10 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “Olympian and UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey sets out to test her courage and prove the fighter mentality that made her a champion will allow her to stare down any opponent — even the Mako Shark. Former Navy diver and shark attack survivor Paul De Gelder coaches rookie diver Ronda Rousey through three rounds of survival training against heavyweight opponents including deadly Bull Sharks, all building to a historic ‘Main Event’ where Ronda attempts to step outside the safety of any cage to face the ultimate fighter of the sea — The Mako.”

AIRS: Monday, July 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “In this thrilling and urgent Shark Week special, Aaron Rogers, Lindsey Vonn (pictured), and Rob Gronkowski will join forces with top shark scientists to learn crucial information about the ocean’s top predators. Shark populations are in trouble worldwide, but a daring collection of dedicated shark researchers are using the latest satellite technology to try and save them. If researchers can use satellite wildlife tags to figure out where sharks feed, mate, and birth their pups, the information will be critical to conserving the species.”

Gronk gets the party started with a shark.

A shark rushes QB Rogers.

AIRS: Monday, July 23 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “The deeper you dive the bigger the sharks? A team of experts go to Great White hot spot Guadalupe Island to look for the biggest sharks of their kind. Once before, a 20-foot female named Deep Blue showed herself, then disappeared into the deep. Is that where all the giant sharks live? Dr. Mauricio Hoyos thinks so. In a combination of deep-water cage and submarine dives, Hoyos and expert shark diver Jimi Partington, plus Andy Casagrande go looking for the biggest sharks in the deep water around Guadalupe.”

AIRS: Monday, July 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “In 1945, one of the largest sharks ever recorded was captured in Cuban waters. This Great White was named ‘El Monstruo,’ but sightings of huge sharks around Cuba didn’t end there. The phenomenon of massive sharks around Cuba puzzled scientists, but for years the island nation has been closed off to outsiders. Now, two teams of researchers have finally been granted permission to delve into the mystery of Cuba’s gigantic sharks. To the south, a team looks for a massive Great Hammerhead known as ‘The Queen.’ And off Cuba’s north shore, the hunt is on for another ‘El Monstruo’-sized Great White!”

AIRS: Tuesday, July 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTIONL In the food world, Guy’s known as the perfect eating machine…but he’s finally met his match when he goes flip flop to fin with the ultimate feeding machines of the sea. In this one-hour special, Guy and his son, Hunter, head to the Bahamas to experience local cuisine and explore and understand just what makes the waters around these islands the perfect all-you-can-eat buffet for such a wide variety of shark species.”

AIRS: Tuesday, July 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “Shark attacks are on the rise but are these attacks the result of the shark’s behavior or our own? Our team of expert divers Liz Parkinson, Mike Dornellas, and Nick LeBeouf and professional cameraman Andy Casagrande put this theory to the test. By reenacting five harrowing real-life encounters and putting their own lives on the line. Real-life incidents recreated in real-time. The most daring shark experiments ever attempted help to uncover the keys to survive. If you step into the waters this summer, make sure you know the Laws of Jaws.”

AIRS: Tuesday, July 24 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “In 2017, five full-grown Great White sharks washed up dead on beaches in South Africa. The necropsy revealed they were eaten alive and their livers were devoured. What is the only massive sea predator that has the ability to capture, kill, and wipe out a group of 15-foot, 3,000-pound Great White sharks? Orcas. Shark Biologist Alison Towner is on the case, searching for the killers in these grisly crimes and sleuthing for the answer everyone is asking: will they attack again? On her journey, Alison locates two Orcas, named Port and Starboard, easily identifiable by their drooping dorsal fins and she determines how they could be the attackers. In one of the most gripping stories of survival, Alison teams up with conservationist Chris Fallows and filmmakers Jeff Kurr and Andy Casagrande to find out how these Great Whites are being wiped out and what can be done to save them.” 

AIRS: Wednesday, July 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “In 2001, filmmaker Jeff Kurr joined shark photographer Chris Fallows off South Africa to witness an amazing great white behavior — sharks launching out of the ocean as they attack seals. The fabulous Air Jaws series was born! Now, 17 years and seven shows later, orcas have killed several sharks off Cape Town and driven off the rest, so the future of the phenomenon is in question. Jeff and Chris travel to New Zealand to search for a new Air Jaws location — and look back through the fabulous visual record of South African ‘flying’ sharks to help them find the right spot.”

AIRS: Wednesday, July 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “In a never-before-seen matchup, two titans of TV come together in Shark Tank Meets Shark Week. This time, the Sharks aren’t battling to buy businesses; instead they are all vying for a $50,000 donation on the line. The Sharks are each paired with a shark-centric non-profit where they interact with sharks and uncover the issues sharks are facing. They’ll discover the threats of finning, micro-plastics, and the shark-saving measures of tagging or ecotourism. Armed with their newfound knowledge and life changing experiences, our Sharks head back to the Shark Tank studio where, for the first time ever, they have to pitch each other. Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, and Kevin O’Leary (pictured) have to convince their fellow Sharks, including Robert Herjavec, why their non-profit deserves to win the $50,000 donation. It’s a feeding frenzy of Shark versus Shark.”

Daymond John is invested…in staying alive.

AIRS: Wednesday, July 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “SharkCam is back and with smaller tags. Dr. Greg Skomal and the Woods Hole team go to the Bahamas to investigate the private lives of Bull and Hammerhead sharks, guided by Doc Gruber and Dr. Tristan Gutteridge of the Bimini Shark Lab. In the past, SharkCam has revealed fascinating new behaviors of white sharks. What new things will the team discover about the hunting techniques of these other three fierce predators?”

AIRS: Thursday, July 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “SharkCam Strikes Back celebrates the remarkable discoveries the team have made in the last six years and takes a tongue-in-cheek look at some of the disasters. From napping great whites to SharkCam being attacked, it highlights footage SharkCam has captured over the years. It all started with the Shark Week’s 2013 Return of Jaws.”

AIRS: Thursday, July 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “It’s the most dangerous stunt Shark Week has ever undertaken. In a raw, immersive adventure that includes blowing up a boat in the middle of the ocean, Paul de Gelder and James Glancy spend two days floating with sharks. With no food, water or sleep, their physical condition deteriorates and the risk of shark attack rises. How will the sharks behave? And will the men get attacked? The location is the waters of Cat Island, the Bahamas. One of the last refuges for the endangered Oceanic White Tip. A shark said to be responsible for hundreds of deaths of shipwreck survivors during WW2.The experiment is so dangerous, a safety and medical team will float 300 feet away from the men, monitoring their every move. Within minutes, sharks start to arrive. Over the next two days an extraordinary survival story unfolds as the sharks get increasingly confident. As Paul and James weaken, and drift more than 25 miles out to sea, they experience a feeding frenzy in this unique, high octane adventure: Sharkwrecked. 

AIRS: Thursday, July 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “An invasive species is turning one of the world’s oldest marine ecosystems upside down. Dr. Neil Hammerschlag leads a team, including cameraman Joe Romeiro and local expert Alex Hearn, to the Galapagos to observe and document how tiger sharks — new to the islands in the last 10 years — have reset the underwater order in one of the sharkiest places on the planet.”

AIRS: Friday, July 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “In Megalodon: Fact Vs. Fiction, we’ll dive into the question: WHAT IF the largest shark that ever existed were still alive today? With the help of experts, we re-examine the original Shark Week special, dissecting key scenes to see if they paint an accurate picture of how Megalodon would have lived and hunted if it were alive today. We’ll look at new evidence from Megaladon’s beginnings.”

AIRS: Friday, July 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “Over four decades ago, giant Great White sharks off Long Island, N.Y., gave rise to the legend of Jaws. But all those big sharks were caught, killed and disappeared — until now. With protection, the sons and daughters of Jaws are making a comeback. Dr. Craig O’Connell goes looking for the legendary monsters of Montauk to see if the bloodline of Jaws continues.”

AIRS: Friday, July 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “They’re big, they’re angry, and they’re pregnant! These large Great White females migrate to Guadalupe for one last big feed of seals before they go off to have their pups. But where do they go? Dr. Mauricio Hoyos believes they head to a biosphere reserve on the coast of Baja because local fishermen report catching many Great White pups there. So, Hoyos and his science team of Michelle Wcisel and Toby Daly-Engel will track the sharks to Baja, use genetics to identify which pups belong to which females, and confirm a birthing ground to be protected.”

AIRS: Saturday, July 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “One of Shark Week’s most exciting missions over the years has been the search for the largest Great White sharks in the world — the mega-sharks. Now Jeff Kurr and Andy Casagrande go to New Zealand to look again for giant White sharks lurking in deep water off the coast and revisit the most exciting events and discoveries from the past to help guide their search.”

AIRS: Saturday, July 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “Discover everything that has happened in the world of sharks this year — the unbelievable viral videos, the biggest news stories, and the latest cutting-edge shark science.”

AIRS: Sunday, July 29, 9 p.m. ET/PT

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: “Stranded on a barren island in the middle of the most shark-infested waters on earth, five Naked and Afraid All-Stars must survive for 14 days, exclusively on what the ocean provides. Ky Furneaux, Ryan Holt, Chris Fischer, Steven Lee Hall, and Eva Rupert are separately inserted by boat on an island in the Bahamas. They may be Naked and Afraid veterans but here they are in Shark territory. The boat lands and our Shark Expert comes ashore with the familiar looking bags and some unfamiliar items. These items will help the all-stars survive and get to their completion point over the next 14 days.”