The WORST episodes of Shark Week
Every episode of Shark Week ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Shark Week!
Every year we dedicate a full week to sharks, this includes newly made specials each year all featuring sharks and their attacks.
#1 - Mysteries of the Shark Coast
Season 2008 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/30/2008
Australia's northeastern coast is a hotbed for shark activity. Its tropical seas are home to more species of sharks than anywhere else in the world. But there's trouble in the sharks' stronghold Down Under – even here the sharks are disappearing. What's happening to them? A special team made up of pioneering Australian marine biologist Richard Fitzpatrick; noted shark documentary filmmaker and host Mike deGruy; lead scientist for the Nature Conservancy M. Sanjayan, Ph.D.; and adventurer Celine Cousteau band together to find out, while undertaking the largest shark tagging expedition in Australian history. Their mission: to discover the cause of the mysterious decline in shark populations here, and find out if we can help the situation. To do so, the team deploys underwater animal cams and remote cameras to explore and record shark behavior and to gather new insight into the still largely secretive life of the ocean's ultimate predator.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#2 - Shark Week's Impossible Shots
Season 2012 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/12/2012
A team of wildlife cameramen, led by Shark Week veteran Andy Casagrande, heads to Gansbaai, South Africa to try to secure a shot of a great white shark that no one has been able to get... yet. Their mission is to capture a previously unseen, and some say impossible, angle of a great white shark's Polaris breach. Their task quickly turns into a race against time as weather and luck work against them and their window of opportunity to film this extremely difficult shot closes fast. Using state-of-the-art camera technology and their own ingenuity, the crew attempts to film a bird's-eye-view of the breach at super high speed, which would put them in the company of some of the greatest cameramen ever to work on Shark Week, who have pushed the limits of camera technology and their own will to get "impossible" shots. Will this team join the ranks of the greats?
Watch Now:Apple TV
#3 - Air Jaws: Apocalypse
Season 2012 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/12/2012
Picking up where 2011's Emmy®-nominated "Ultimate Air Jaws" left off, photographer, author and shark expert Chris Fallows and legendary natural history producer Jeff Kurr embark on a quest to learn more about the great white sharks of Seal Island, South Africa — and one shark in particular. Colossus is a massive 14-foot great white that dominates all other sharks in the area. Kurr and his team push the envelope even further with a new camera specially designed for the shoot, new angles and new hair-raising encounters... even if it means risking their lives for the ultimate close-up with Colossus. And what they discover in this yearlong filming expedition is a true scientific breakthrough: dozens of great whites clustered in shallow water, feeding on smaller sharks and rays — with Colossus dominating the grounds and nearly eating the camera.
Watch Now:Apple TV#4 - Sharks Under Glass
Season 2003 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/14/2003
Explore the latest shark programs at aquariums across the country. From the Shark Bay exhibit in Tampa, Florida, to the great white shark exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, research is yielding exciting information about these fearsome predators.
#5 - Shark City
Season 2011 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/4/2011
Most of us think of sharks as blank-eyed killing machines, but in Shark City, we'll get to know a handful of them as individuals. We'll follow the sharks of the Bahamas through their days and nights to find out how they size each other up, what they like to eat and what it is that they're afraid of. This show will feature the amazing talents and hilarious insights of our Chief Shark Officer, Andy Samberg.
Watch Now:Apple TV#6 - Killer Sharks: The Attacks of Black December
Season 2011 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/2/2011
December 1957: the height of tourist season in South Africa. Merry vacationers from around the globe descend on an idyllic resort town along the sunny coast to enjoy the summer. It's not long until the white sands are clogged with dead bodies and the sapphire waters are red with blood. The culprit? The authorities suspected a single, massive rogue shark with a taste for human flesh.
Watch Now:Apple TV#7 - Sharkman
Season 2007 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/4/2007
Michael Rutzen is on an unbelievable quest -- to hypnotize, in open water, one of the most dangerous animals on the planet – the great white shark. Rutzen has been working with sharks for many years to study their body language. He believes if he can put sharks into a sleep-like state called tonic immobility, he could reveal a completely different side to their nature that might inspire people to want to protect, rather than destroy, these incredible apex predators.
#8 - Sharks: A Family Affair
Season 2007 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/3/2007
As South Africa’s leading shark expert, Craig Ferreira has spent his entire life studying and diving with sharks. For the past several years his dream has been to travel the world for a year to study what has been called “the dirty dozen” – 12 of the deadliest species of shark – and pass on his knowledge about and love for sharks to his children. On this expedition, Craig brings his entire family – his children Storm, Cruise and Wilder and his wife Jytte – to the world-famous “Shark Alley” off of South Africa’s Dyer Island for seven days, where they tag sharks and observe great whites from an underwater cage.
#9 - Shark Tribe
Season 2007 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/2/2007
Animal behaviorist Dave Salmoni and South African shark scientist Ryan Johnson journey to the remote, tribal shores of New Guinea to unravel the mysterious secrets of the local shark whisperers who “call” in sharks from tiny canoes, without bait. As Dave and Ryan immerse themselves in this extraordinary ancient ritual, they gain knowledge that could help humans and sharks coexist.
#10 - Perfect Predators
Season 2007 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/1/2007
During more than 400 million years of evolution, over 400 species of shark have developed highly refined instincts and abilities to keep them the ocean’s top predator. This premiere program observes sharks in their environment in oceans around the globe, including tracking the migration of a baby shark in Bimini, attaching cameras to the social lemon shark to see how they relate to one another, and investigating a newly discovered great white behavior. Some great whites have been tracked migrating from the West Coast of the United States to a blank spot on the map in the mid-Pacific at the same time every year – but why? Also investigated are new scientific applications and technologies being developed using the unique properties of shark skin – from mimicking its barnacle-shedding properties on the outer side of ships, to its bacteria-resistant properties to coat medical applications such as operating tables and catheter tubes.
#11 - Top 5 Eaten Alive
Season 2007 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/30/2007
This premiere program features five of the most amazing stories of shark attack survival, told by the victims themselves. Among the stories: An abalone diver’s head and arm are bitten by a great white … A young woman swimming in the deep ocean near Easter Island is caught in a tug-of-war between her rescue crew and a massive shark with her leg in its jaws … A shark scientist surrounded by a dozen predators in the Bahamas is bitten on the calf … A fisherman’s arm is bitten off, yet he has no memory of the attack … A woman vacationing on a yacht near a remote Pacific island is pulled underwater by a 9-foot tiger shark and fends it off with a punch to the nose, while her shipmates scramble to find help in the middle of nowhere.
#12 - Deadly Stripes: Tiger Sharks
Season 2007 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/30/2007
At nearly 20 feet in length, with hundreds of razor-sharp teeth and a weight of over 1,300 pounds, the tiger shark is one of the world’s best-equipped predators. Nicknamed the ocean’s garbage disposal for their not-so-picky eating habits, tiger sharks are believed to be solitary animals. This premiere SHARK WEEK program examines an unusual and mysterious event off the South African coast. Each year, tiger sharks gather en masse off Aliwal Shoal and then, as suddenly as they appear, they vanish. South African shark expert Mark Addison, who has worked with tiger sharks for over 20 years, has a theory that these sharks are actually the same individuals year after year -- and he hatches a plan to prove it via satellite tracking. To do so, Addison braves the waters without a shark cage, chain mail suit or scuba gear. He also free-swims without an oxygen tank, to allow him to get up close to tag the sharks with a satellite tracking device -- risking not only being bitten by the tiger sharks, but also drowning.
Watch Now:Apple TV#13 - Ocean of Fear: The Worst Shark Attack Ever
Season 2007 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/29/2007
This two-hour premiere special kicks off the primetime 9 PM hour of SHARK WEEK’s 20th Anniversary and is narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, who memorably played Matt Hooper in Jaws. The special tells the gripping story of the crew of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, sunk by two torpedoes in the Philippine Sea on the night of July 30, 1945. Eight hundred sailors, many maimed and burned, were plunged into the water … and floated helplessly for four days, having to deal with hunger, driven mad by thirst and menaced by hundreds of sharks. Assisted by George Burgess, America’s foremost investigator of shark attacks, Discovery Channel re-opens the official shark attack file on the Indianapolis – the first time this incident has ever been scientifically investigated. Ocean of Fear examines why the sharks attacked the way they did (and why they sometimes did not), and investigates the survival strategies of the men in the water, including those who fought the sharks. Survivors recall their ordeal on camera and remarkable reconstructions, filmed with real sharks, reveal the drama from both the sharks' and the humans' perspectives.
#14 - Day of the Shark 2
Season 2009 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/3/2009
In this Episode, it was shown that what happens, when a great white breaks through a 300-pound aluminum shark cage and traps the divers inside. Shark week 2009 Episode 3 story is about a member of a Navy Seals who was attacked in the water of Florida by sharks.
Watch Now:Apple TV#15 - Blood in the Water
Season 2009 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/2/2009
The shark week 2009 Episode 1 “Blood in the Water” is the true story about the shark attacks of 1916 that inspired the movie “Jaws”. A 9 foot long shark cruises just off the New Jersey beaches. In this Episode, it was shown about the first multiple shark attack in American history, and this is the reason we are fear of sharks today.
Watch Now:Apple TV#16 - Sharktacular
Season 2015 - Episode 17 - Aired 7/12/2024
Most heart pounding moments of shark week
#17 - How Not to Become Shark Bait
Season 2008 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/29/2008
Sharks may have a bad reputation, but you actually have a very slim chance of being attacked by one. A thrill-seeking team with a purpose -- escapologist Jonathan Goodwin, former lawyer turned Survivor: Cook Islands winner and adrenaline junkie Yul Kwon, marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan and scientist Dr. Marty Jopson -- travel to the Bahamas to test shark attraction theories on lemon, tiger and Caribbean reef sharks, focusing on the sensory perception of sharks including colors, vibrations, smells and other attractors. In the process, viewers learn strategies for staying safe when in the water.
Watch Now:Apple TV#18 - Day of the Shark
Season 2008 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/28/2008
Do shark encounters happen more frequently in the morning or night? This special chronicles six recent shark attacks that took place at different times of day. Top shark experts weigh in on what time of day is better or worse for avoiding sharks.
Watch Now:Apple TV#19 - Surviving Sharks
Season 2008 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/28/2008
Survivorman's Les Stroud hosts this look at how best to play it safe in the water, while testing popular theories of how to survive shark encounters. Les travels to the Bahamas and South Africa to test whether the behavior of Caribbean reef sharks and great whites changes depending upon the time of day. While in South Africa, Les and marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan conduct an analysis of the great white's bite, and test whether kicking and splashing attracts sharks, and if it's safer to stay in a group or tread water alone if stranded in the ocean.
Watch Now:Apple TV#20 - Shark Bites: Adventures in Shark Week
Season 2010 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/4/2010
Late, Late Show Host, CRAIG FERGUSON has always loved SHARK WEEK. But when he gets the chance to get off the couch and be in the show, he gets in way over his head. Discovery wants him go to the Bahamas to swim with, touch, and, if he has the guts, FEED sharks. And Ferguson starts to have second thoughts about getting close to the apex predators of the sea. Especially since he will not have the protection of a cage. Everything Ferguson sees and experiences reminds him of what he has learned from watching the Discovery Channel. Woven into Ferguson's journey are clips from the scariest, most exciting moments of the last 20 years of SHARK WEEK. The results are funny, scary, and ultimately very moving. Terrified of getting in the water and too proud not to, Ferguson makes the leap into an ocean full of hungry sharks.
Watch Now:Apple TV#21 - Day of the Shark 3
Season 2010 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/3/2010
Learn valuable lessons from six people who survived shark attacks in the return of DAY OF THE SHARK - and find out why they don't blame the sharks. Hear from a Navy Seal who was attacked by a bull shark in the murky waters of the Sydney Harbor while participating in an anti-terrorism exercise; a fisherman attacked by a pair of bull sharks while standing in the shallow waters of Breton Sound in Louisiana; a surfer in Jongensfontein, South Africa, who was attacked by a great white shark; a vacationer snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia who was attacked by a reef shark; and a surfer attacked by a tiger shark in Oahu, Hawaii.
Watch Now:Apple TV#22 - Man vs. Fish: Tiger Shark
Season 2010 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/2/2010
Matt heads to the Great Barrier Reef to tag a fearsome tiger shark. But to secure the satellite tags, he has to wrestle one and drill holes into its dorsal fin.
Watch Now:Apple TV#23 - Into the Shark Bite
Season 2010 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/1/2010
Go where humans don't dare to in INTO THE SHARK BITE. Watch the power of a shark bite filmed with the latest high-speed, high-definition cameras from extraordinary angles - ending up literally inside the jaws of sharks.
Watch Now:Apple TV#24 - Ultimate Air Jaws
Season 2010 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/1/2010
Off the coast of South Africa, massive great white sharks blast from the water, pulling a sneak attack on their seal prey. Shark expert Chris Fallows and filmmaker Jeff Kurr arrive on the scene to investigate the aerial attacks using state-of-the-art technology including an HD camera that shoots in super slow motion - 2,000 frames per second. This enables the team to slow down a breaching shark from one second of real time to almost a minute - and in so much detail you can literally count every tooth in the shark's mouth! Fallows and Kurr also employ a submarine and remotely-operated helicopter to capture this incredible footage.
Watch Now:Apple TV#25 - Dirty Jobs: Jobs That Bite Harder
Season 2006 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/4/2006
Mike Rowe is back with another hour of dirty jobs with the men and women who work with sharks. In this hour-long premiere, Mike travels to an unlikely place — the desert of Las Vegas — to Mandalay Bay’s two-million gallon aquarium, home to some 15 different species of shark. Here, Mike gets dirty with marine biologists as they prepare a nutritious assortment of frozen fish for the sharks’ lunch, and climbs into the aquarium’s filter system to make sure it’s operating properly — finding himself navigating between hundreds of pounds of sand and a mess of shark excrement. Next, he rolls up his sleeves to dissect a nine-foot tiger shark that was found dead off the coast of South Africa. These dissections are done to help humans better understand shark behavior, evolution, health and current environmental factors that may affect the shark population. Finally, Mike heads to the Bahamas with Jeremiah Sullivan, the inventor of the Neptunic shark suit — a chain mail armor to protect divers from shark attacks. After helping Jeremiah weld hundreds of small metal rings together to make a suit, Mike suits up and dives 30 feet underwater amid a feeding frenzy of Caribbean reef sharks to test out the suit — on himself.