Nat Geo's Biggest SHARKFEST Ever Announced! [EXCLUSIVE]

Update (June 23, 2020): Dates were updated to reflect Sharkfest moving back a week. All dates are current/correct.

THE CHAMPS ARE BACK, AND THEY’RE READY TO CHOMP!

National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD's SHARKFEST 2020 kicks off Sunday, July 19, with its biggest lineup ever Screen Rant can exclusively announce. Summer's fan-favorite event features 17 original specials across both networks for en epic, five-week SHARKFEST marathon.

The Hunt Is On for the Rookie of the Year, the Tiger Shark, in WORLD’S BIGGEST TIGER SHARK?. Catch the Hall of Famer, the Bull Shark, and Other Sea Creatures in SHARKS VS. DOLPHINS: BLOOD BATTLE. The G.O.A.T., the Great White Shark, Returns with the New One-hour Special SHARKCANO, and more!

The Olympics may be on hold, but National Geographic is this summer’s ultimate pinch hitter with the season’s other fan-favorite pastime — SHARKFEST! Spotlighting the ocean’s top athletes, National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD together are airing five full weeks of action-packed shark programming with 17 original premieres and the best shark programming from the networks’ massive library as part of its biggest-ever shark spectacular. Showcasing the ocean’s greatest competitors in their natural habitat, the eighth annual event begins Sunday, July 19, on National Geographic, followed by two weeks of content on Nat Geo WILD, beginning Sunday, August 9.

As the network’s summer MVP, SHARKFEST always dominates its opponents with informative, innovative shows highlighting shark research and conservation. But each summer, it also hits a grand slam with entertaining, heart-pounding content that makes a weeklong event look like a minnow.

Nat Geo SHARKFEST Exclusive - 24 Hours With Sharks — When silky sharks gather, there can be up to hundreds of them. (photo credit: Didier Noirot)

This season’s starting lineup for SHARKFEST on Nat Geo includes the following:

World’s Biggest Tiger Shark? — Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Andy Casagrande and marine biologist Kori Garza journey to a remote lagoon in French Polynesia to dive with the “tigers of Tahiti” in search of the world’s largest living tiger shark, Kamakai. While there, they capture cooperative hunting tactics between two juvenile tiger sharks for the first time ever on film! Click here for a bite of the action.
Most Wanted Sharks — Of the millions of sharks in our oceans, a select few are so fascinating, they’ve become worldwide celebrities with legions of fans and followers. In Most Wanted Sharks, marine biologist and shark-suit inventor Jeremiah Sullivan dives into the stories of the most sensational shark stars of all time.
Sharkcano — Sharks and volcanoes, across the globe: where you find one, you find the other. Researchers have not figured out what attracts sharks to the hotspots, but world-renowned shark scientist Dr. Michael Heithaus is on a mission to figure out the answer. He crisscrosses the globe and risks life and limb to uncover the shocking real-life link between these two fearsome forces of nature.
Sharks vs. Dolphins: Blood Battle — The ultimate feud is waged beneath the waves: sharks versus dolphins. They’ve shared the ocean for millennia, but scientists have only just begun to understand the complex relationship between the two. The special follows a team of experts as they travel to the epicenter of this savage struggle — Shark Bay, Australia — to unlock the secrets of shark and dolphin combat.
Shark vs. Surfer — Surfers aren’t the only athletes in the water; they share the playing field with the most powerful players below surface, and often, they’re no match for the real danger among the waves. In Shark vs. Surfer, travel to the most shark-infested surf spots around the world to hear harrowing shark-and-surfer stories told by the survivors, along with insight from the world’s leading marine biologists, Ryan Johnson and Dr. Steven Kajuira.

Geoff Daniels, executive vice president of global unscripted entertainment at National Geographic:

"For the past eight years, Nat Geo and Nat Geo WILD have been THE destination for viewers to get up close and personal with one of the world’s most awe-inspiring creatures, and this summer we’re eating up the competition AGAIN with an unprecedented line-up of action-packed shark shows. Over five full weeks, our viewers will get the ultimate home field advantage to witness the ocean’s super stars in their prime, so pull up your beach chairs and get ready for some SHARKFEST!"

Over the course of five weeks, Nat Geo and Nat Geo WILD continue to hit it out of the park with a variety of other jaw-dropping SHARKFEST originals and specials to catch the viewer’s eye, including Raging Bull Shark, currently vying for the title of the world’s most dangerous shark; and When Sharks Attack, a SHARKFEST stalwart that decodes the mystery of why sharks suddenly strike. In Sharks of the Bermuda Triangle, a marine biologist tracks an elusive tiger shark to uncover Mother Nature’s most mysterious hotspot, and experience the intensity of a sea-life standoff in Shark vs. Whale.

The marathon of programming also underscores the best of the networks’ wide shark library content — which includes hundreds of hours of programming — with titles airing throughout the five weeks, beginning at 6/5c every evening.