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Celebrate one of the best weeks of summer with these binge-worthy programs!
By Sloane Solomon — Written on Jul 11, 2018
There are many fun traditions that get us excited for summer. Beach days, barbecues, ice cream... And then, there's the glory that is Shark Week.
If Shark Week doesn't get you hyped for the season, then you're obviously doing summer wrong. Because there's nothing better than sitting inside in the air conditioning on a hot day and binging all the shark-related programs your heart desires.
Aside from the joy of being inside where it's cool on a scorching hot summer day, maybe you haven't heard that sharks are, to put it mildly, pretty awesome? Why else would we have an entire week dedicated to these amazing creatures?
Now that summer is in full swing, when is Shark Week? It starts on Sunday, July 22, 2018, on Discovery Channel and runs for eight days. Programming throughout the week will center around sharks (of course) and seeks to educate us about these magnificent animals. It's also the 30th anniversary, so all the more reason to start binging and preparing early for one of the best weeks of the summer.
So whether you're in the mood for a fun, campy shark movie or a riveting documentary about one of the ocean's most incredible species, Netflix has got you covered this year for all those Shark Week feels.
Here are the BEST shark movies and documentaries on Netflix to help you start celebrating early.
1. Sharknado
It doesn't get campier than Sharknado. What's not to love about flying sharks, anyway? Plus, there are about six of these movies by now so they're perfect for one of those ridiculously hot days where you don't feel like moving from the couch.
2. Deep Blue Sea
This thriller follows a team of scientists who are trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's when their testing goes wrong and they end up pursued by giant sharks. It's a pretty decent take on the genre with some reasonable scares that are sure to get your heart racing.
3. 47 Meters Down
A more recent take on the genre, 47 Meters Down is about two sisters who get trapped at the bottom of the ocean in a shark cage. This flick will definitely make you rethink cage diving on your next vacation, or probably ever.
4. Life In The Blue
If you need to wind down after all the action-based movies, this soothing documentary is perfect. Life In The Blue is an intriguing documentary that aims to inform us about the amazing variety of animals that live below the surface. And there's nothing you can watch that will be as relaxing as an ocean documentary. Let the sound of the waves take your mind off cage diving or flying sharks.
5. Mission Blue
While you're on a documentary kick, you won't want to miss out on this one. Mission Blue follows Dr. Sylvia Earle whose documentary is not just informative but is really a campaign to protect and save our oceans from their various threats. Sharks, in particular, are highlighted in the film due to Earle's love and admiration for the species and her attempts to explain why everything about their reputations is false. The footage is also downright stunning — it didn't win an Emmy for nothing! It's also important to note that Earle is a marine biologist, environmentalist, oceanographer, and just an all-around boss chick.
6. A Plastic Ocean
This documentary is a must-watch. A Plastic Ocean shows how devastating the effects of plastic pollution in our oceans can be not only to the sea life in them but to us as well.
7. The Polar Sea
The Arctic Ocean doesn't get enough love. And maybe you thought that sharks couldn't survive in such frigid temperatures. Well, then you obviously haven't met the Greenland shark. And, yes they're a real species. This gorgeous documentary perfectly captures the exquisite beauty of the world's coldest waters. We won't blame you for thinking that the warmer oceans are overrated after watching this incredible piece of work.
8. Shark
This documentary is absolutely riveting. It covers many different types of sharks and how they live their lives, but most importantly it gives us a whole new outlook on sharks. The groundbreaking series shatters all the myths you've ever heard about sharks and shows us what they're truly like and not just the way we've seen them portrayed in the movies. It's an incredibly eye-opening series and trust us — after watching this documentary, you'll never look at sharks the same way again.
Sloane Solomon is a professional writer and editor. She graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelors in English Writing. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her daydreaming in French about coffee, online shopping, travel, and baby animals.