Discovery Channel’s Shark Week returns for its 38th edition running Sunday, July 26 through Saturday, August 1, with twenty new programs across Discovery Channel, Discovery+ and HBO Max. The opener pairs Ken Jeong with singer Rei Ami for a special titled KPop Shark Heroes that ties into the Netflix phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters; the article says the film became Netflix’s most-watched film, won two Academy Awards and landed the first Grammy ever handed to a K-pop track. Rei Ami filmed cage descents and free dives among hammerheads, reef sharks and bull sharks off the Korean peninsula, while Jeong remained on the boat and provided the on-camera hosting presence. Rei Ami told the Associated Press that Shark Week is “at the core very educational,” and the feature frames conservation and real shark encounters near Korea alongside pop-gloss promotion. Assignment X reports the slate includes the usual record-dive spectacles and great-white forensics in addition to the K-pop, themed special. The piece argues Discovery is trading the muscle-host template of past frontmen for a licensed cultural moment, using an animated girl-group mood to make the franchise feel current.
