'Shark Week' celebrates 25 years

The Discovery Channel’s series Shark Week celebrates its silver anniversary this year.

To commemorate the occasion, the network will air a number of shark-related specials this summer.

The celebration begins Aug. 12 with Air Jaws Apocalypse, which focuses on shark expert Chris Fallos and producer Jeff Kurr studying the great white sharks of South Africa.

The next program, to air the same evening, is Shark Week’s 25 Best Bites, which lists the highlights of the unsuccessful attempts to capture a great white.

Aug. 13 will have MythBusters’ Awesome Shark Special, which explores the top 25 shark myths. That special will be followed by Sharkzilla, which will attempt to manufacture a replica of the medalodon, a 52-foot-long shark that roamed the ocean in pre-historic times.

How ‘Jaws’ Changed the World, a documentary about the classic Steven Spielberg movie Jaws (1975), will air Aug. 14. After that, Shark Fight, which focuses on shark bite victims who help save sharks, will air.

Great White Highway will air Aug. 15. That special will focus on great whites’ movements off the California coast.

The festivities end Aug. 16 with Adrift: 47 Days with Sharks, which focuses on two WWII servicemen who crashed in the water and survived among sharks for more than a month.

Shark Week is now the longest-running programming event on cable.