SHARK WEEK, television's longest running must-see summer TV event, returns to Discovery Channel on Sunday, August 4 at 8PM ET/PT with its first ever live SHARK WEEK talk show, SHARK AFTER DARK, hosted by comedian Josh Wolf who is best known for his regular appearances on E!'s Chelsea Lately. SHARK AFTER DARK premieres Sunday, August 4 at 11PM ET/PT and will air each night during SHARK WEEK from 11PM - 12AM ET/PT.
SHARK AFTER DARK is produced by Embassy Row, the innovative production company behind AMC's "The Talking Dead" and Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" along with Green Mountain West. In each nightly episode, Wolf will lead viewers through an hour-long celebration of all things shark-related that will include celebrity guests, shark experts and shark attack survivors, among others. The show will give viewers the first opportunity to interact live on-air every night with tweets, questions to the shark experts and more. "It's shameful that the shark demographic has been neglected for so long by late night TV," said Executive Producer Craig Ferguson. "I'm delighted to be making a show that combines comedy, witty chat and ferocious biting predators." Wolf will also look back at some of the highlights from the past 26 years of SHARK WEEK, and look ahead to give viewers a sneak peek at the next day's SHARK WEEK programs. "I can't tell you how excited I am for this show and to be part of Discovery's SHARK WEEK," Josh Wolf said in a statement. "I hope they don't expect me to swim with sharks though because I will for sure soil my wetsuit!"
Building upon last year's eight shark-filled specials, a whopping 11 SHARK WEEK episodes coupled with SHARK AFTER DARK gives this year's SHARK WEEK the most premiere hours ever featured in the 26-year history of the event. SHARK WEEK shows no signs of slowing down. Ratings for 2012 propelled Discovery Channel to the #1 non-scripted cable network spot for P18-49 delivery and the top cable network for P/W 18-34 delivery.* Grabbing 21.4 million viewers P2+, premieres of SHARK WEEK last year surpassed SHARK WEEK 2011 premiere viewership (18.63M P2+) across all key demos. ** On the social media front, there were more than 1.6 million Tweets about SHARK WEEK (doubling the volume of 2011), and SHARK WEEK accounted for 35% of all cable social activity from August 12-16, according to Trendrr.
SHARK AFTER DARK is produced for Discovery Channel by Embassy Row and Green Mountain West. Executive Producer for Embassy Row is Michael Davies. Executive Producers for Green Mountain West are Craig Ferguson and Rebecca Tucker. For Discovery Channel, Executive Producers are Denise Contis and Craig Coffman with Sydney Clover as Associate Producer.
* Source: Nielsen. NHI Calendar. Mo-Th, 8/13/12-8/16/12. L+SD AA(000) Rank.
** Source: Nielsen NPower. Cume. 6min Qual. All Shark Week Premieres. 7/31/11-8/6/11 vs. 8/12/12-8/18/12
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