Nothing says summer quite like Shark Week. And nothing quite says cable, either. Does the annual ritual still make sense in the streaming television age?
John Cena will preside over 21 hours of nature-adjacent documentaries featuring creatures that he describes as “the action heroes of the ocean.”
The blood in the water begins with the return of a series that proved quite popular in 2023. “Belly of the Beast” (8 p.m. Sunday, Discovery, TV-PG) “stars” a 29-foot decoy rigged to look like a whale to predatory sharks, a species that hasn’t had an eye exam since dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
Marine biologist Dr. Austin Gallagher, marine scientist Liv Dixon and nature photographer Kina Scollay travel to waters off New Zealand and embed themselves in the faux leviathan to capture feeding frenzies and glimpses of 18-foot long “breeder” sharks.
The whale and shark battles continue on “Jaws Vs. Leviathan” (9 p.m., Sunday, Discovery, TV-PG), a speculative glance back into prehistoric times when the whale’s giant ancestor battled with the enormous legendary shark known as the “meg.”
“Makozilla” (10 p.m. Sunday, Discovery, TV-14) takes a true-crime approach, exploring reports of sea life, including giant sea lions, gashed by predators of never-before-imagined size. A team of shark experts, including bite specialist Jeff Harris and Dr. Craig O’Connell, set out to unmask the colossal predator haunting the California coast.
Finally, “Sydney Harbor Shark Invasion” (11 p.m. Sunday, Discovery, TV-PG) offers theories about why the Australian city may be experiencing its first reported shark attacks in some 60 years. Paul de Gelder, himself a victim of a 2009 shark attack, returns to the brine Down Under, where great whites bump up against bull sharks, tiger sharks and the occasional unlucky human being.
That’s just tonight. Shark Week runs till Saturday night, and streams as well on Max.
Shark Week has been around since 1988, very much the time when cable was becoming a mainstay in most homes. Curiously, the weeklong collection of nature documentaries did not acquire a host until the turn of this century. The first was Nigel Marven, a BBC TV personality known for series about dinosaurs and other natural “monsters.”
Over the years, the hosts seemed to be drawn from other personalities in the Discovery cable universe, including the gang from “American Choppers” (2004), “Mythbusters” (2005) and “Dirty Jobs” (2006).
As Shark Week grew in popularity, talent from outside of the cable clubhouse arrived in the form of late-night host Craig Ferguson (2010), “SNL” star Andy Samberg (2011) and horror-movie fixture Eli Roth (2015-17).
Lately, the hosting duties have fallen to those of giant stature — wrestling stars and action heroes, including Dwayne Johnson (2022), Jason Momoa (2023) and now Cena.
It’s interesting to note that no woman has ever hosted Shark Week. Perhaps females are thought to be viewers rather than doers in this field. Or chum.
After all, the 1975 thriller “Jaws,” the pop culture artifact that inspired all this interest, really gets going when we see the great white’s first victim, a fetching female who does not survive the first stirrings of John Williams’s memorable score.
Susan Backlinie, the American swimmer, stuntwoman and actress who portrayed Chrissie Watkins, the first victim in “Jaws,” died on May 11. She was 77 years old.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (AND SHARKWEEK EVE CELEBRATIONS)
— Regional MLB action (7 p.m., Fox).
— Roy Scheider returned for the less than successful 1978 sequel “Jaws 2” (7:30 p.m., Syfy, TV-14). Randy Quaid picked up the baton in “Jaws 3” (10 p.m., TV-14) from 1983.
— A prehistoric monster sends a deep-sea exploratory mission to the bottom of the ocean in the 2018 shocker “The Meg” (8 p.m., TBS, TV-14).
— After trying to end her relationship with a married religious elder, a woman finds herself accused of his wife’s murder in the 2024 shocker “Amish Affair” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— Bickering siblings bond over a Yuletide babysitting assignment in the 2022 romance “Three Wise Men and a Baby: Extended Cut” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— A photographer detects a desperate cry for help coming from the old house of a seemingly mild-mannered man in the 2024 shocker “Little Girl in the Window” (10 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— The New York Yankees host the Boston Red Sox in MLB action (7 p.m., ESPN).
— Previously aired segments scheduled on two episodes of “60 Minutes” (CBS): Havana syndrome, Kevin Hart (7 p.m.); 3D printing, medical chatbots (8 p.m.).
— The voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad animate the 2013 Disney musical “Frozen” (8 p.m., Disney, TV-G), an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Snow Queen.”
— The discovery of a corpse puts a damper on a posh fundraiser for the local vicar in “Grantchester” on “Masterpiece” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
— San Antonio’s Day of the Dead celebration brings out special flavors on the 12th season opener of “Carnival Eats” (9 p.m., Cooking, TV-G). Also: A trip to the Florida State Fair.
— While trying to save their dying marriage, a couple discovers a corpse in the 2024 shocker “Couples Retreat Murder” (9 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— Flying lizards excite the peroxide set on “House of the Dragon” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— Clues about Jules’ origins begin to emerge on “Orphan Black: Echoes” (10 p.m., AMC, TV-14).
— Adult Swim imports the Canadian cartoon comedy “Psi Cops!” (midnight, Cartoon Network), set in a shadowy government agency investigating the paranormal.
CULT CHOICE
America’s first female commander-in-chief (Polly Bergen) must deal with the insecurities of the first first man (Fred MacMurray) in the 1964 comedy “Kisses for My President” (4:15 p.m. Saturday, TCM, TV-PG).
SATURDAY SERIES
Colter searches for a shy young woman missing three years on “Tracker” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “America’s Got Talent” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … Three repeat episodes of “Celebrity Family Feud” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Two repeat hours of “48 Hours” (9 p.m. and 10 p.m., CBS) … “Dateline” (10 p.m., NBC, r).
SUNDAY SERIES
“The Wall” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … “Beat Shazam” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … Missing in Idaho on “Tracker” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “American Ninja Warrior” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … “Name That Tune” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … A transgender teen goes missing on “The Equalizer” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
