Shark Week 2022 Promo Features Shaq vs. Shark Showdown

There are few personalities as big as Shaquille O'Neal and there are few events on TV bigger than Shark Week, with the two colliding in an all-new promo celebrating this year's Discovery Channel event. Earlier this week on TNT's Inside the NBA, audiences were treated to a look back at Shark Week in which Shaq went diving into the water with the world's biggest fish, the whale shark. As if this meeting wasn't exciting enough, hearing Shaq's costars taunt and tease the commentator for his reactions added even more enjoyment to the promo. You can check out the promo below. While official details have yet to be revealed, fans can expect Shark Week to kick off on Discovery Channel and discovery+ in July.

While many audiences are looking forward to big-screen adventures or the debut of highly anticipated series they'll be binge-watching this summer, Shark Week will not only entertain audiences, but also educate them. This year marks the 34th annual Shark Week event, which gets bigger and better each year.

For as long as people have been exploring the ocean, humans have been captivated, and fearful, of the majestic creatures. A pivotal moment for sharks in pop culture came in 1975 when Steven Spielberg's Jaws landed in theaters, which became one of the biggest cinematic hits of all time and helped coin the word "blockbuster" due to it regularly drawing lines around the block for screenings. Based on the novel by Peter Benchley, the film sadly heightened the notion of man-eating sharks and vilified the creatures.

The first Shark Week took place in 1988 and gave audiences of the burgeoning cable channel 10 programs developed specifically for the event. Its popularity resulted in subsequent summers seeing the return of Shark Week, which began adding hosts over the years to draw in even more viewers. Discovery Channel enlisted their own personalities, such as the hosts of MythBusters or Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe, while recent years have seen hosts such as Andy Samberg, Shaquille O'Neal, and horror filmmaker Eli Roth.

The launch of discovery+ also saw a surge in Shark Week content, with the streamer delivering audiences exclusive specials and extras to sink their teeth into. In fact, some of the most beloved Shark Week programs are currently available to stream to help get you into the spirit of the event.

Stay tuned for details on Shark Week 2022 before it kicks off in July.

Are you looking forward to this year's Shark Week? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!