Shark Week is a weekly television programming block on the Discovery Channel that highlights shark-related material. The show first aired on July 17, 1988.

It was initially dedicated to conservation efforts and dispelling shark myths and was held yearly in July or early August. It gained popularity over time and became a success on the Discovery Channel.

It has been the longest-running cable television programming event in history since 2010. And it seems like they won’t be stopping anytime soon.

Since its inception in 1988, there have been a lot of hosts who have hosted Shark Week. For 2023, the host is none other than Jason Momoa.

Jason Momoa to host ‘Shark Week’ 2023

In an interview with People, Momoa confessed that he had always wanted to host Shark Week. He said that he had been begging to host the show since 2018.

Momoa also gushed about how he had an interest in marine and wildlife. In fact, he studied marine and wildlife biology in college before he started acting.

He said, “It’s my original passion. This goes back to something I’ve wanted to do my whole life.”

Moreover, it is a tradition for him and his family to watch Shark Week every year. He grew up watching the show, and now, he tunes in with his kids, Lola Iolani and Nakoa-Wolf, annually.

The Aquaman actor does not only want to be the host of Shark Week this year but plans on coming back next year as well. He said, “I’m hoping Shark Week goes well, and I can do another one, and then another one, and just pass on more information.”

Momoa’s passion for the event is evident in a video published by Discovery in June announcing his hosting responsibilities. In the video, he walks to the edge of an empty beach, and as he gets closer to the sea, the music starts to swell. 

He starts “conducting” as sharks leap from the sea. The music abruptly stops, and Momoa exclaims, “I’m doing Shark Week!”

Shark Week debuts on the Discovery Channel on July 23. Shark Week programs will be accessible to watch on Max as well.

Hosts prior to Jason Momoa

Before Momoa, there have been 16 hosts on Shark Week. From 1988 to 1993, there were no hosts for the show.

Similarly, the shows between 1995-1999 and 2003 also had no hosts. Here is the list of 16 hosts of the Shark Week before Momoa.

Peter Benchley —  1994

Peter Benchley was the first host of Shark Week since its inception. He was a novelist, screenwriter, and ocean activist from the United States. 

He is well known for his famous novel Jaws, which he co-wrote with Carl Gottlieb. Several of his other novels, including The Deep, The Island, Beast, and White Shark, have also been adapted for film and television.

Benchley’s Jaws was the major inspiration behind Shark Week, so his being the first host made sense. Moreover, the location for Shark Week 1994 was where the Jaws movie was filmed.

Nigel Marven —  2000 to 2002

From 2000 to 2002, Nigel Marven hosted the Discovery Show. He is a naturalist, environmentalist, author, and television producer from the United Kingdom. 

In 2000, six million 3D Pulfrich glasses were provided to US and Canadian viewers in 2000 for an episode showcasing an extinct enormous shark with 3D portions. 

In 2001, Marven held Shark Week for the second time. Jaws: Sharks of South Africa was first shown in 2001.

The episode featured great white sharks jumping out of the ocean along the South African coast. It was one of the most viewed Shark Week programs in history.

In 2002, Marven presented Shark Week for the third time. That year, Shark Week had a celebrity theme. 

Several celebrities swam in the sea with sharks. Julie Bowen, Mark McGrath, David James Elliott, Adrian Pasdar, Estella Warren, Brian McKnight, Gabrielle Reece, and Casper Van Dien were among them.

The cast of American Chopper —  2004

In 2004, Shark Week was hosted by the cast of the Discovery reality TV show American Chopper.

The show revolves around Paul Teutul Sr. (also known as Senior) and his son Paul Teutul Jr. (also known as Paulie or just Junior), who build unique chopper-style motorbikes.

Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman —  2005

Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman presented Shark Week in 2005, and a two-hour MythBusters “Jaws Special” aired to coincide with the event.

Savage is a former co-host of the Discovery Channel television shows MythBusters and Unchained Reaction, as well as an actor, lecturer, and television personality and producer.

Hyneman is a former co-host of the television series MythBusters with Savage, where he became noted for his unique beret and walrus mustache.

Mike Rowe —  2006

Mike Rowe presented in 2006, and two Dirty Jobs episodes were aired, headlined ‘Jobs that Bite…Harder’ during Shark Week. During the week, the Discovery Channel’s Silver Spring, Maryland headquarters was transformed into a huge shark.

Rowe is a television personality and narrator from the United States. He is most recognized for his work on the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs and the CNN series Somebody’s Gotta Do It. 

Les Stroud —  2007 and 2009

The Discovery Channel honored Shark Week’s 20th anniversary in 2007, presented by Survivorman host Les Stroud. Sharkrunners, a video game based on GPS data from tagged sharks in the Pacific Ocean, was released to commemorate the 20th anniversary.

Similarly, Ocean of Fear premiered on July 29, 2007. Shark Week 2009 began with ‘Blood in the Water,’ a dramatization of the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks.

Stroud is a Canadian survival expert, filmmaker, and musician most known for creating, writing, producing, directing, cameraman, and hosting the television series Survivorman. 

Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman, and Mike Rowe —  2008

The MythBusters hosts, Savage and Hyneman, along with Rowe, hosted Shark Week 2008, which took place from July 27 to August 2. For the occasion, a new MythBusters shark special and a Dirty Jobs shark-themed episode launched.

Craig Ferguson —  2010

Shark Week 2010, presented by Craig Ferguson of The Late Late Show, began on August 1 and included six brand-new shark programs. The second appearance of the enormous inflatable shark mounted to the Discovery Channel building called “Chompie” promoted it. 

With 30.8 million unique viewers, Shark Week 2010 was the most watched Shark Week ever. Similarly, Shark Week is currently the longest-running program event on cable, as of 2010.

Andy Samberg —  2011

Shark Week 2011 was hosted by Andy Samberg —  actor, writer, comedian, producer, and director best known for Saturday Night Live and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

It began on July 31, 2011, and there were seven specials.

Philip DeFranco —  2012

Shark Week 2012 began on August 12, 2012, at 9/8c, presented by Philip DeFranco, YouTuber and commentator. 

The 446-foot-long great white shark “Chompie” was hoisted atop the Discovery Channel headquarters building once more. To commemorate the series’ 25th anniversary, viewers were asked to vote on which item a mechanical megalodon shark would destroy with its hydraulic jaws in the “Shark Week Chompdown” through Twitter or Facebook.

Josh Wolf —  2013 and 2014

Josh Wolf hosted Shark Week 2013 and 2014. In 2013, the event began with Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives, a hypothetical documentary-style video that hypothesized the existence of the megalodon shark in modern times.

The event’s marketing campaign debuted on Discovery’s Skywire Live, with a broadcast documenting the return of “Snuffy The Seal” to the water, only to have a shark rush out and devour the seal on camera. 

In 2014, the programming block had fourteen programs, including five Shark After Dark LIVE episodes aired after two new programs each night for the first five days.

Eli Roth —  2015 to 2017

Eli Roth hosted Shark Week for three consecutive years, from 2015 to 2017.

Shark Week 2015 premiered a month earlier than last year, on Sunday, July 5 at 8/7c. It lasted eight days in total. 

14 new episodes were released. A program named Shark Week Sharktacular was broadcast on June 23, 2015, and it celebrated the finest events in Shark Week history and looked ahead to Shark Week 2015. 

There were also eight ‘Sharkopedia Edition’ episodes. These were re-cuts of new episodes from this year that include more information for the viewer. 

Shark Week 2016 aired on June 26, 2016. Lokai, a bracelet firm promoting “balance,” collaborated with Oceana and Discovery Channel to restore the ocean’s equilibrium and implement the shark fin ban.

Shark Week 2017 premiered on July 23 at 7 p.m. ET. Beginning July 18, select theatres around the United States played a “best of” episode from 2016, as well as a new 2017 special, to commemorate its 29th anniversary. 

Shaquille O’Neal —  2018

In 2018, Shaquille O’Neal, the legendary former NBA athlete and commentator, hosted the Discovery series. Shark Week designed a limited edition Shark Week Box to match the Shark Week Experience to commemorate its 30th year.

Rob Riggle —  2019

Rob Riggle, American actor, stand-up comedian, and retired United States Marine Officer, hosted Shark Week 2019 from July 28 to August 4, 2019.

Josh Gates —  2020 and 2021

Josh Gates hosted Shark Week for two years, 2020 and 2021.

He is an American television host, and co-executive producer of the Discovery Channel shows Expedition: Unknown and Legendary Locations.

He also hosts live specials and appears as a guest investigator on the television shows Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International.

Dwayne Johnson —  2022

Dwayne Johnson, best known as The Rock, was the host of Shark Week 2022. 

All Elite Wrestling, whose Dynamite and Rampage shows run on Discovery-owned networks, took part in Shark Week with a shark cage-themed bout, and their Fight for the Fallen event raised funds for ocean animal groups.

What is ‘Shark Week’ about?

The week-long event includes numerous programs about the many shark species that live in waters all around the world. The Discovery Channel has created such a spectacle of its shark-infested coastlines that the program has included a host to introduce the weekly debuts since 1994. 

Steven Spielberg’s classic film Jaws was released in theatres in June 1975, making everyone frightened to go into the sea. The film was based on Benchley’s novel of the same name, and it grew out of the author’s lifelong fascination with sharks, which he discovered while fishing. 

Both the novel and the film were inspired by the attacks that shook the Jersey Shore in the summer of 1916 in the village of Matawan, which were based on scant scientific knowledge about sharks in their natural environment. People’s perception of sharks was altered as a result of the smash movie, and fishermen rushed to their local waters to clear them of sharks.

Therefore, to remove this stigma around sharks, dispel shark myths and provide viewers with knowledge about the very real risks that sharks confront, Discovery Channel debuted Shark Week in 1987 —  a projected week-long festival of shark documentary-style programming.