Youtube/Discovery Channel
Shark Week is premiering a first this year, right in the middle of the 8-day long television event: a scripted, feature-length film entitled Capsized: Blood in the Water. The film, which is based on a true story, stars Josh Duhamel.
Capsized: Blood in the Water airs on Wednesday, July 31 at 9pm ET/PT on the Discovery Channel. According to Discovery Channel‘s programming schedule, the film will run for two hours (including commercial breaks) and end at 11pm ET/PT.
At 11:01pm, immediately after the movie ends, Discovery Channel will air another new offering for Shark Week 2019: a nightly Shark Week talk-show called Shark After Dark, hosted by Rob Riggle. According to Discovery Channel’s schedule, on Wednesday night’s show, Riggle “dives deeper into the Shark Week film Capsized with cast from the movie.”
If you are not able to watch the premiere live, Discovery Channel will be airing reruns of the movie throughout the week. It will air again on Wednesday night at 12am ET/PT, Thursday at 5pm, and Saturday at 1pm.
If you do not have cable to watch Capsized: Blood in the Water on Discovery Channel, there are a number of ways to live stream the movie online. Click here for more information.
The official synopsis for the movie, according to Discovery Channel, reads “Based on the harrowing true story of an October 1982 shark encounters. After a yacht bound for Florida capsizes during an unexpected storm, its crew is left to drift for days in the chilling waters of the Atlantic where they become prey to a group of tiger sharks. With the hope of rescue dwindling, the crew must do everything in their power to survive as the sharks continue to hunt them.”
In addition to Josh Duhamel, who portrays captain John Lippoth, the film also stars Tyler Blackburn, Rebekah Graf, Beau Garrett, and Josh Close. While they were filming in May (in Pinewood Studios’ 2.7-million gallon water tank in the Dominican Republic), TV Insider met with some of the cast, who reflected on their experience creating a movie based on true events. Duhamel reflected on how the real John Lippoth and his crew “were lost at sea with no food, no water, in the blazing sun and then freezing at night.” Close commented on how realistic the scenes felt while filming them, saying “They had a fake shark on my leg, and if you look down, it looks real. It’s got its eyes shut and it’s chomping into your leg. I’m holding my breath, then screaming.” Although the events were terrifying and the movie magic is sure to frighten viewers, Howard Swartz, Discovery’s senior vice president of production and development, assured Shark Week fans that the movie will stay true to Discovery Channel’s commitment to “celebrate sharks and try to get away from the perception of them as these mindless killing machines.”
Tune in to the premiere of Capsized: Blood in the Water on the Discovery Channel, Wednesday, July 31 at 9pm ET/PT. Shark Week 2019 runs from Sunday, July 28 through Sunday, August 4.