We’re almost at the event of the summer. Forget the Women’s World Cup, Wimbledon and Marvel movies. I’m talking about Shark Week. Discovery’s seven-day block of programming dedicated to the sea’s most notorious grinning beasts has become a bona fide pop-culture phenomenon since its inception in 1987. And while it has been airing annually for more than 30 years, its profile has grown exponentially over the past decade with the rise of live-tweeting and the proliferation of broader content.
This year, Shark Week begins on July 28 and ends August 4. Discovery will broadcast its first original scripted movie, Capsized: Blood in the Water, starring Transformers star Josh Duhamel, on July 31. The movie is based on the true story of a yacht crew who ended up adrift and at the mercy of tiger sharks in Florida in 1982.