Summer’s most-anticipated television programming event, Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week,” returns for its historic 38th year on Sunday, July 26 at 8PM ET/PT, showcasing nonstop action, epic encounters, and heart-pounding investigations.
SHARK WEEK 2026 FULL SLATE
SUNDAY, JULY 26
“K-Pop Shark Heroes” premieres at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery
After a recent series of shark encounters off the Korean Peninsula, actor and comedian Ken Jeong joins forces with GRAMMY®-nominated singer and lifetime shark lover REI AMI on a mission to reshape the perception of sharks across East Asia and around the globe, fueled by the power of K-POP.
Just in time for the 30th anniversary of Shark Week, Discovery is bringing fans deep into the ocean’s depths with its biggest product lineup ever. From bathing suits, socks, and sunglasses to Build-a-Bear plush, pool floats, and mobile games, Shark Week merchandise is here to help every fan live every week like it’s Shark Week. The new partners on board to celebrate the 30th anniversary of television’s bloodiest week include vineyard vines, Swedish Fish, Build-a-Bear, Philip Colbert, Knockaround, and many more.
After debuting its first two episodes on Discovery Channel on September 4, the remaining four episodes of MONSTERS UNDERGROUND will premiere on Destination America.
In MONSTERS UNDERGROUND, a military survivalist, a trained biologist, a reclusive hunter-tracker, and a hulking pro fighter investigate deadly monsters living in the most inaccessible environments on earth: underground caves, caverns, and mines. There, they seek out legendary creatures that thrive in the cold, damp darkness beneath our feet.
You've watched all you can of Monster Quest and generally only get your fix of the odd and unexplained once a year round' October time in one massive dose...but your TV knows you need MORE. Discovery answers the call for further exploration of man clashing with science and those things that actually do go bump in the night...
This August, SCIENCE examines what happens when scientific research goes too far, with the world premiere of DARK MATTERS: TWISTED BUT TRUE. The six-part series takes viewers inside the laboratory to profile strange science and expose some of history’s most bizarre experiments. Hosted by noted science fiction actor John Noble (Fringe, Lord of the Rings), DARK MATTERS: TWISTED BUT TRUE delves into the most unusual research ever conducted, including attempts to crossbreed humans and apes, actual zombie investigations and head transplantation studies. Cutting-edge CGI recreations enable viewers to witness the pivotal moments when brilliant minds face controversy or ethical crossroads on the fringes of science. DARK MATTERS: TWISTED BUT TRUE premieres Wednesday, August 31, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT).
“The stories we share in DARK MATTERS: TWISTED BUT TRUE are as outlandish as a great sci-fi script or as disturbing as a classic horror tale — the only difference is that they’re all true,” said Noble. “The series offers a glimpse into the dark side of science, as well as human nature.”
“DARK MATTERS: TWISTED BUT TRUE offers a fascinating insight into moments of scientific history where individuals went to extreme measures to achieve a breakthrough. It’s impossible to turn away from these true stories that you always assumed were just outlandish urban legends,” said Debbie Adler Myers, general manager and executive vice president of SCIENCE. “This is real science — just the dark side of it, featuring brilliant minds who eventually took a dramatic turn. John Noble is the perfect tour guide to escort viewers through this bizarre world of research gone horribly wrong, but that in some cases, actually led to technology and science that we use today.”
The series premiere features the shocking story of Soviet scientist Dr. Ilya Ivanov, who in the 1920s attempted to start his own “planet of the apes.” In an attempt to build an invincible army, Ivanov tried to crossbreed humans with apes to create a race of supersoldiers. Viewers also will be introduced to Morris Jessup, a self-identified UFO expert who attempted to expose what he believed to be a military cover-up involving experiments with invisibility. Finally, unorthodox studies by America’s greatest inventor, Thomas Edison, result in a dark and unintended invention which remains infamous today.
DARK MATTERS: TWISTED BUT TRUE is produced for SCIENCE by Wide-Eyed Entertainment. Dan Gold and Jasper James are executive producers for Wide-Eyed Entertainment. Rocky Collins is executive producer and Bernadette McDaid is vice president of production for SCIENCE.
Here's the full episode run down. Mark your calendars!
EPISODE 1: The Philadelphia Experiment, Ape-Man Army, Zapped to Death
Premieres Wednesday August 31, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
UFO expert Morris Jessup tested invisibility and teleportation after receiving an extraordinary letter stating that the U.S. Navy had experimented with this very concept before. Would his investigation be the end of his career?
In the 1920s, Soviet scientist Dr. Ilya Ivanov began performing disturbing experiments to crossbreed humans with apes. Could he create intelligent apes, or would his experiments result in horror?
In the early 20th century, a race was under way to increase America’s flow of electricity. To that end, Thomas Edison conducted a number of unorthodox studies to meet this growing demand. To his surprise and regret, however, these experiments would eventually lead to a dark creation that remains infamous today.
EPISODE 2: Unidentified Flying Nazis, I Have Einstein’s Brain, Killer Thoughts
Premieres Wednesday, September 7, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
A fireball streaks through the skies of Pennsylvania in 1965. Could it be a UFO, or had the U.S. gotten hold of an outlandish piece of Nazi antigravity technology?
After Einstein’s death in 1955, Dr. Thomas Harvey, the man in charge of the autopsy, stole his brain. Does Einstein’s brain hold the key to where genius lies within its physical structure?
During the Cold War, with the world on the brink of nuclear destruction, Russian and American scientists engage in a top-secret psychic arms race.
EPISODE 3: Sexy Secret Agent, Full Body Transplant, Honey I Nuked the Planet
Premieres Wednesday, September 14, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
When a talk show host married a former model, he had no idea that she would reveal she was a brainwashed CIA secret agent. Was she the subject of government mind control experiments, or is her troubled childhood to blame?
When Dr. Robert White transplanted the head of a monkey onto the body of another, had he discovered a way to preserve humanity’s brightest minds? Or was he exercising unnecessary animal cruelty?
In 1962 the United States exploded a 1.4 megaton H-bomb in space. Was this detonation a necessary action taken during the Cold War, or one of mankind’s greatest mistakes that could lead to Armageddon?
EPISODE 4: It’s Alive!, Tripping with Uncle Sam, My Hand Is Killing Me
Premieres Wednesday September 21, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
At the beginning of the 19th century, an Italian scientist believes he has found a way to bring the dead back to life. Could electricity be the God-given vital force of life?
In the late 90s, journalist Hank Albarelli believes he has found a connection between a French town gone insane and the apparent suicide of an American scientist. Is madness contagious, or has Albarelli found himself in the middle of a government conspiracy?
In 1908, a German woman is attacked by the hand of the one who knows her best: her own. Are we alone in our minds, or is there another, darker entity hidden deep within?
EPISODE 5: 21 Grams, Missing Cosmonauts, Sound of Death
Premieres Wednesday, September 28, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
When French scientist Vladimir Gavreau finds his laboratory flooded with a mysterious energy, his research takes a menacing new direction. Had Gavreau invented a new weapon of mass destruction?
At the dawn of the age of space exploration, two radio buffs stumbled across a heart-stopping sound. Were the Soviets covering up a space mission gone terribly wrong?
Boston medic Dr. Duncan MacDougall sets out to scientifically prove the existence of the human soul by weighing a man at the moment of death.
EPISODE 6: Radio Waves of Death, How to Make a Zombie, Jekyll vs. Hyde
Premieres Wednesday, October 5, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
Death by deadly ray sounds like a scene from a science fiction movie. However, the legendary Nikola Tesla claims to have created one in the early 20th century. Some say an 800-mile area in Siberia was devastated during his radio-wave experiments, leaving very few survivors. Could this be true?
Scientist Wade Davis was obsessed with cracking the zombie secrets. After tracking down a man with his own death certificate, he believed he had uncovered the science to zombie legend.
After Dr. Horace Wells fails to invent anesthesia using laughing gas, he experiments with a new drug: chloroform. Wells’ experiments would lead to horrific, devastating mistakes.
I tend to hate season finales. All too often, they fail to live up to the hype. Smallville teased a Superman VS Doomsday fight for over a year, only to have it end with three punches and a distant explosion within 5 minutes. The last time I watched Chuck, the nerdy retail employee turned hapless spy turned super spy in 2.3 seconds as he was uploaded with kung fu skills powerful enough to allow him and the entire cast to jump the shark simultaneously. Reality shows tend to be far worse, with anti-climactic wrap ups that fizzle out to nothing and may as well fade to black with a lead character shrugging into the camera like bugs Bunny. I can't say I watch many of them, unless you count paranormal shows and Destination Truth...and a killer show called Storm Chasers!
I've had an odd fascination with tornadoes ever since I was a child. I've had many dreams about them, often with me being far too close but eerily calm beside them. When the movie Twister came out, I was first in line. Despite the cheesiness of the film and weird little love triangle plot to set the storms against, I've shamelessly watched it time and again. The Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers is the closest you'll ever come to watching people live that movie and this season was the most chaotic yet.
You've got the nearly psychotic "extreme" chaser Reed who bankrolls amazing amounts of money into high tech equipment, a giant red armored vehicle and even a mini plane that is flown alone the outside of a tornado to drop probes into it (just like Twister!!..well..almost.) Then theres IMAX film maker Sean Casey in the ultimate storm crashing vehicle, the TIV and their storm tracking vehicle Dog House. The rest of the crews seem to rotate in and out ranging from super scientists with an army of vehicles to normal guys only armed with a truck, a camera and a heavy foot on the gas pedal. What makes this show work is that the drama doesn't seem to be forced. These are quirky individuals who butt heads from time to time and we are allowed to see all of that in between some amazing visuals of developing tornadoes. You'll even accidentally learn something!
The season finale had everything you could ever want from this show and, by far, the most amazing tornado footage I've ever seen. I don't want to give too much away as some of you probably dvr'd the 2 hour event and the rest of you can easily catch a replay some day soon, but I will say that my jaw was dropped so completely that I'm still tasting carpet. You'll get super vehicles driving right into tornadoes, lesser cars running from the carnage, towns dangerously close to the action, all manor of landscape uprooted and the awesome electric guitar soundtrack backing it all up. HOW CAN YOU GET MORE AWESOME INTO ONE NIGHT??!! It's impossible. This is a tornado enthusiast's dream come true and shows us just how raw and incredible reality TV can actually be. Do not miss this one!
You've watched all you can of Monster Quest and generally only get your fix of the odd and unexplained once a year round' October time in one massive dose...but your TV knows you need MORE. Discovery answers the call for further exploration of man clashing with science and those things that actually do go bump in the night...
I tend to hate season finales. All too often, they fail to live up to the hype. Smallville teased a Superman VS Doomsday fight for over a year, only to have it end with three punches and a distant explosion within 5 minutes. The last time I watched Chuck, the nerdy retail employee turned hapless spy turned super spy in 2.3 seconds as he was uploaded with kung fu skills powerful enough to allow him and the entire cast to jump the shark simultaneously. Reality shows tend to be far worse, with anti-climactic wrap ups that fizzle out to nothing and may as well fade to black with a lead character shrugging into the camera like bugs Bunny. I can't say I watch many of them, unless you count paranormal shows and Destination Truth...and a killer show called Storm Chasers!
You've got the nearly psychotic "extreme" chaser Reed who bankrolls amazing amounts of money into high tech equipment, a giant red armored vehicle and even a mini plane that is flown alone the outside of a tornado to drop probes into it (just like Twister!!..well..almost.) Then theres IMAX film maker Sean Casey in the ultimate storm crashing vehicle, the TIV and their storm tracking vehicle Dog House. The rest of the crews seem to rotate in and out ranging from super scientists with an army of vehicles to normal guys only armed with a truck, a camera and a heavy foot on the gas pedal. What makes this show work is that the drama doesn't seem to be forced. These are quirky individuals who butt heads from time to time and we are allowed to see all of that in between some amazing visuals of developing tornadoes. You'll even accidentally learn something!