Shark Week 2017: What to watch, what to skip

Shark Week kicked off Sunday night and will run through July 30. Here’s what you might want to dive into during the Discovery Channel’s big week.

The most wonderful time of the year is upon us again.

No, it’s not the holiday season yet, but rather Shark Week, which sinks its jaws into its 29th season from July 23 through July 30.

There are allegedly people out there who don’t love these cold-blooded creatures of the deep (?!), but for everyone else, the Discovery Channel’s annual programming is a welcomed opportunity to get up close and personal with these magnificent animals.

Of course, television is a tricky business, and even the Discovery Channel has to sometimes sacrifice science in the name of ratings.

To wit, Shark Week kicked off on Sunday night with Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White, and, well, if you were expecting to see Michael Phelps race alongside an actual great white shark…you might have been a little disappointed.

Of course, technically, the Discovery Channel didn’t lie about the special. It never claimed that Phelps would race a great white in real time, and his speed swimming in cold ocean waters was really compared to the speed of a great white in the same conditions.

But nevertheless, people felt a little…deflated.

The Discovery Channel is a fantastic place to learn more about the ocean’s top predators.

It’s also a channel that will sometimes try to convince you that, maybe, the prehistoric Megalodon still swims in today’s oceans.

To that end, here are some of the upcoming Shark Week specials that you should tune into…and others you can probably skip.

Watch: Shark Vortex (Monday, July 24, 8 p.m. ET)

As a (shark-obsessed) child growing up on the coast of New England, I always scanned the water for that tell-tale dorsal fin anytime we went to the beach .

But the fact of the matter is that sharks prefer warm-to-temperate waters, and they occur in far greater numbers off the coasts of Florida, California, and Hawaii than in the Northeast. Per Discovery.com’s Sharkopedia, California has accounted for 257 shark attacks and Florida, 924, while the New England states (albeit with far less coastline) together have only seen 25.

However, per the Discovery Channel, “each summer the Gulf Stream pushes north into the waters of southern New England, bringing with it 30 species of shark.”

This special focuses on three of those species—makos, great whites, and porbeagles—that can “out-swim, out-think, and out-compete all the others.” What’s more, it features Dr. Greg Skomal, a heavy-hitter in the world of marine biology and a trusted shark expert, so you know the science behind this one is sound.

Skip: Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White

As previously mentioned, if you weren’t one of the people who eagerly flipped on the Discovery Channel at 8 p.m. on Sunday hoping to see Phelps race alongside an actual great white shark, this is one you can delete off the DVR.

Because, spoiler alert, it didn’t really happen.

Have no fear, though; if your love of water encompasses both Olympic swimmers and sharks, you’re still in luck. Phelps also teamed up with the Discovery Channel for another, less gimmicky special to close out Shark Week on July 30: Shark School with Michael Phelps. 

Therein, Phelps will join Doc Gruber and Tristan Guttridge of the Bimini Shark Lab to learn everything about sharks and interact with a great white (finally!) up close and personal in a cage. Check that out instead this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

Watch: Sharks and the City: New York  (Tuesday, July 25, 10 p.m. ET)

This Discovery Channel special screams gimmick—it’s hosted by none other than Mr. Big himself, Chris Noth (see what they did there?) and, brace yourself, Seal will make an appearance, as well—but the science behind it actually seems compelling.

The numbers of great whites in the waters surrounding New York have been declining for years, but as seals return to New York Harbor, marine biologist Dr. Craig O’Connell explores what the return of great whites to the New York area could mean.

O’Connell is a shark biologist who holds a PhD in marine science and technology, and if he’s attaching himself to a Shark Week program, you can trust that it’s not ridiculous…despite the copious Sex and the City references.

Skip: Sharks and the City: LA 

The pun was tolerable once; this is too much. Plus, we already know that sharks live around the waters of Los Angeles.

Watch: Alien Sharks: Stranger Fins (Monday, July 24, 10 p.m. ET)

We see plenty of footage of great whites and hammerheads on Shark Week, and while they’re awesome in their own right, there’s something really special about super weird sharks. We’re talking the goblin shark, sawsharks, ghost sharks, frilled sharks, and the lantern shark, the latter of whom glows in the dark.

Next: 20 animal-human matchups we’d like to see besides Michael Phelps vs. a shark

This special represents a chance to see and learn about rare species of sharks you may not encounter frequently, and if you’ve never seen footage of a goblin shark, you’re in for a treat. (And probably some nightmares.)