Fin-tastic lineup for Discovery's Shark Week

Jul. 22—Who better to usher in Shark Week than Aquaman himself? Actor and conservationist Jason Momoa will host the Discovery Channel's weeklong celebration and investigation of shark habits and behaviors that begins Sunday.

Now in its 35th year, Shark Week will include nearly 20 new hours of television giving fans an up close and personal look at the apex predators, according to a news release. Programs include "Belly of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy," which offers a first time, close-up look at a great white shark feast — captured by researchers with cameras inside a whale carcass decoy — and "Cocaine Sharks," exploring what happens to sharks that possibly feed on cocaine and other illegal drugs dumped in South Florida waters.

The top-rated programming event, which attracted more than 28 million viewers last year, will also spotlight innovative technology that is used to track and study unique shark species and their enemies. Programs will also delve into mating and migration patterns revealed in rare footage as researchers follow the sharks to remote locations in South Africa and New Zealand.

Highlights of Discovery Channel's Shark Week include:

Sunday

"Belly of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy" (8 p.m.): This Shark Week first will show researchers with cameras brave a great white shark feeding frenzy from inside a life-size whale decoy.

"Jaws vs The Meg" (9 p.m.): New evidence suggests that the great white shark may have caused its extinction of its prehistoric cousin, the MEG, a fearsome predator measuring 50 feet and weighing 60 tons.

"Serial Killer: Red Sea Feeding Frenzy" (10 p.m.): Shark attack investigator Brandon McMillan and cinematographer Fo Zayed seek answers in three recent deadly shark attacks off of the posh beaches of Egypt's Red Sea.

"Shark Week: Off the Hook" (11 p.m.): Enjoy behind the scenes of iconic moments and never-before-seen footage from the "biggest thrills and most terrifying moments from 35 years of Shark Week"

Monday

"Great White Fight Club" (8 p.m.): Positing that female white sharks unequivocally dominate the ocean, a team of experts venture into the treacherous waters of New Zealand to prove their theory in the sharks' fierce battlegrounds.

"Monsters of Bermuda Triangle" (9 p.m.): Dr. James Sulikowski and a team of scientists search for answers after a healthy, 10-foot pregnant Porbeagle shark vanishes in the Bermuda Triangle and they uncover evidence that an unknown, monstrous predator could be to blame.

"Alien Sharks: Strange New Worlds" (10 p.m.): Wildlife biologist Forrest Galante explores the kelp forests and unseen ocean depths at the tip of South Africa to study the unusual sharks that exhibit bizarre behaviors and unusual, otherworldly appearances.

Encores run at 11 p.m. on Discovery

Tuesday

"Mako Mania: Battle for California" (8 p.m.): Super makos are challenging great whites for their hunting territories off the coast of Los Angeles. Dr. Craig O'Connell, Fo Zayed, and Kendyl Berna deploy state-of-the-art technology to uncover how these makos have become some of the fiercest predators in the oceans.

"Raiders of the Lost Shark" (9 p.m.): The search for the elusive and colossal shark named Dutchess, who mysteriously vanished from Gansbaai, South Africa, years ago, brings together shark expert Matt Dicken and Shark Week legend Dickie Chivell.

"Monster Hammerheads: Killer Instinct" (10 p.m.): Dr. Tristan Guttridge seeks tissue samples from some of the largest sharks on the planet to determine if hammerhead sharks can reach monster sizes by hunting other shark species.

Encores run at 11 p.m.

Wednesday

"Air Jaws: Final Frontier" (8 p.m.): Shark filmmakers Andy Casagrande and Jeff Kurr seek the second-ever breaching great white in the waters of New Zealand to uncover history-making secrets.

"Florida Shark: Blood in the Water" (9 p.m.): Paul de Gelder conducts experiments in the shark attack capital of the world to confirm what makes up the dangerous waters and how to mitigate the risk.

"Cocaine Sharks" (10 p.m.): Shark expert Tom Hird travels to the Florida Keys to determine if there is any truth to the rumors of cocaine-fueled sharks that have spread throughout the fishing community.

Encores run at 11 p.m.

Thursday

"Jaws in the Shallows" (8 p.m.): Shark Week veteran Dr. Riley Elliott sets out with his wife, Amber Jones, to determine why great whites are now terrorizing the beaches of New Zealand.

"Monster Mako: Fresh Blood" (9 p.m.): Using a custom clear, acrylic diving bell, Dr. Austin Gallagher and legendary free diver Andre Musgrove get up close with great whites and the 12-foot-long mako sharks that are breaching eight feet out of the ocean off the coast of California.

"Shark vs Snake: Battle of the Bites" (10 p.m.): Forrest Galante suspects deadly sea snakes are turning tiger sharks to prey when the apex predators begin washing up dead on the beaches of Western Australia with no sign of attack.

Encores run at 11 p.m.

Friday

"Tropic Jaws" (8 p.m.): Dr. Craig O'Connell and Madison Stewart are on a mission to find the 16-foot great white that traded cold waters for Indonesia's warm coast of Bali.

"Deadly Sharks of Paradise" (9 p.m.): Marine biologist Danni Washington and shark conservationist Paul de Gelder join a team tracking tiger sharks off a tropical archipelago in Brazil, seeking the predators thought to be responsible for a spike in deadly attacks since 1990.

"Haunting at Shark Tower" (10 p.m.): Underwater cinematographer Andy Casagrande and shark expert Kori Burkhardt aim to discover whether great white sharks are moving into North Carolina's waters after a harrowing shark encounter at the state's Frying Pan Tower

Encores run at 11 p.m.

Saturday

"Dawn of the Monster Mako" (8 p.m.): After a 14-foot giant mako shark is spotted in the waters of Portugal's Azores region, underwater cinematographer Joe Romeiro and his marine biologist wife, Lauren, aim to capture the beast on film.

"Mega Sharks of Dangerous Reef" (9 p.m.): According to reports, the remote islands off the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia are believed to harbor some of the biggest white sharks on the planet. The search is on for these giant sharks, which are rarely seen.

Encores run at 10 and 11 p.m. on Discovery.

Shark Week content will also be available to stream on Max.

Warner Bros. Discovery's linear and streaming portfolio — which includes TBS, TNT, truTV, TLC, Food Network, HGTV, CNN, Travel Channel, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Science Channel, ID, TCM — will air Shark Week-inspired content or cross-promote the event.

Additional content includes the "Shark Week: The Podcast" with host Luke Tipple, a marine biologist and veteran shark expert, taking listeners on a dive to learn little-known shark facts.

Learn more at discovery.com/podcasts/shark-week-podcast or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all podcast apps.

Following Shark Week, Momoa next hits the seas this winter in "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," which opens Dec. 20.

Stefani Dias can be reached at 661-395-7488. Follow her on Twitter at @realstefanidias.