While there are a number of iconic and recognizable types of shark, such as the great white shark, tiger shark, or bull shark, there are more than 350 different species that come in all shapes and sizes. A number of Shark Week specials highlight the species that already have a wide fan base, but Forrest Galante and Alien Sharks: Strange New Worlds instead aim to shed light on underseen shark species, highlighting the diversity of the fish. As the title of the new special suggests, some of Galante’s findings are as bizarre as something that could have come from another planet.ย Alien Sharks: Strange New Worlds premieres on Discovery on Monday, July 24th at 10 p.m. ET.
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Alien Sharks: Strange New Worlds is described, “The tip of South Africa is a hotspot for unusual sharks that exhibit bizarre behaviors and unusual, otherworldly appearances. Wildlife biologist Forrest Galante explores stunning kelp forests and ocean depths never-before-seen by humans to study these extraordinary creatures.”
ComicBook.com caught up with Galante to talk the new special, his favorite species, and his hopes for the future of Shark Week.
ComicBook.com: The toughest question that I’ve got to ask everybody to get things started, what’s your favorite kind of shark?
Forrest Galante:ย Oh, that is a tough one. What’s funny in all the years of doing this, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that. Isn’t that crazy?
That is crazy. This is a scoop.
You know what I think my favorite is, Patrick, and I’ve seen them but I’ve never got to work with them, do actual science with them, is the sawfish. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the sawfish; it’s got a long rostrum, looks like a chainsaw sticking out the front. I mean, that creature is, you want to talk alien? That is an otherworldly organism. It’s funny, I’m mentioning an animal I haven’t even gotten to really work with, but it’s something that I think is just one of the coolest creatures on the planet.ย
That’s funny because the next thing I wanted to ask you is what you feel is the most bizarre elasmobranch out there and now you’ve hit it. But no, sawfish, you’re right. That would also be my pick for the most bizarre-looking thing out there. That’s really interesting. What do you feel is so enlightening about these specials, of Alien Sharks? What do you feel makes it such a great topic to deliver to audiences?
This is a reboot of a successful franchise, the Alien Sharks franchise — which was a clip show of unique and weird sharks — from the past and we’ve put the Forrest Galante spin on it, which is the adventure element and the linear storytelling. I think the best part about Alien Sharks,ย in general as a franchise, is it’s an opportunity to showcase underrepresented and unique species.
When you think about Shark Week, when you think about the 35 years it’s been on the air, straight away you think about white sharks jumping out of the water, tiger sharks, bull sharks, you name it. And this is not that, right? This is a chance to get the little guy some exposure, to show some really cool, really, really unique, and unusual animals and give them the spotlight and let the audience fall in love with those unusual creatures and want to protect and preserve them. I think that’s the best part about this, is it’s not the same old hit-them-over-the-head-with-a-white-shark show. It’s a totally different thing where we really dig into the, in my opinion, much cooler and much more unusual organisms.
You speak to the history of Shark Week and it’s celebrating its 35th year. So before, and now that you’re a part of Shark Week, what do you feel Shark Week represents to you? What impact did it have on you growing up, watching it maybe as a kid, and how is it now to be a part of it? To be part of the history of Shark Week?
Well, that’s a great question, Patrick. I mean, I grew up in the southern African bush of Zimbabwe, so we didn’t have a lot of TV and I still tuned into Shark Week every year. It shows you what broad reach it has and has done and how incredible it is. Growing up in a landlocked country in the bush in Africa, a little barefoot farm kid, I didn’t think that … Well, when did I first do Shark Week? Seven years ago? I didn’t think that 20-something years later I’d be digging into it. To be a part of it, to have been a part of Shark Week for the last six or seven years, whatever it’s been, has been an absolute honor.
It’s so great having a partner like Discovery because the way it works is I take them my ideas. I go, “Here’s something I really want to do, guys. Let me show off these unique animals. Let me show walking sharks. Let me go to Mexico and show whale sharks,” whatever it happens to be. And they’re such good partners, if they get excited by the idea the same way I am, then they go, “Sure, let’s do this. Let’s figure out a way to tell that story and slot it in and fund it.”
It’s an incredible thing because for me, as iconic as Shark Week is, it’s not about being a part of Shark Week, it’s not about being on TV or being on the Discovery Channel, it’s about promoting the love of animals and promoting conservation. That’s a mission that I like to think we’re succeeding at.ย
You never necessarily thought that you were going to get involved in Shark Week at any point in your career. I know the first time I saw you on Discovery Channel was for Naked and Afraid, so you could say you’ve had maybe an unconventional trajectory towards your place in Shark Week. Do you have any advice or suggestions for people who are just sitting at home watching Shark Week, how they can get more invested in sharks and conservation?
Absolutely. I say this to everybody, I say it in any public speaking thing I do: just do it. And it’s that simple, right? Explore your passion. I don’t care if your passion’s sharks or earthworms or termites or snakes or eagles, get out there and experience it and explore it. If you have enough money to go drinking at the bar on the weekend, you have enough money to go shark diving. You know what I mean?ย
Make choices to immerse yourself in nature with those creatures and those organisms that you’re passionate about because once you do that, you will find a path to conserving them. And that’s what it’s all about. It’s not about one person pushing conservation perfectly, really hard. It’s about everybody doing a little piece and caring about it that will lead to big, global change. And so, for me, it’s as simple as: get out there and experience it. And once you do that, everything else will fall into place.ย
Looking towards the future of Shark Week, you’ve gotten to do a variety of specials for Shark Week in your history and now Alien Sharks, whether it be a continuation of the Alien Shark series or something entirely new, do you have a dream project that you’d really like to develop and bring to life for next year?
I’ve been very fortunate, Patrick, that I’ve been able to do pretty much all my dream projects to date. The series I did, Extinct or Alive, was a total dream come true. The next one that I really want to do is combating human-wildlife conflict and showing some big animal trends, locations, seed populations, so bringing in animals in places they weren’t previously and re-wilding places and reintroducing them. De-extinction work.ย
I work with this company called Colossal, which is a big biosciences company that’s doing a lot of de-extinction work, including on the mammoth and the thylacine that I’m passionate about. I don’t want to sit here and be like, “All my dreams are coming true,” but I’m pursuing all of the dream projects that I want, currently, and that in itself is a dream. I’m not saying they’re all going to happen, but it’s a lot of fun to be able to pursue all the things I’m passionate about.ย
Alien Sharks: Strange New Worldsย premieres on Discovery on Monday, July 24th at 10 p.m. ET.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You can contactย Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter.ย ย
