Shark Week 2015 Commercial Released; Watch First Promo Video For July 5 Premiere

Shark Week 2015 is just around the corner – OK, maybe it's not, but we're already geting excited about this year's sharkfest after seeing Discovery Channel's first official promotional video for the weeklong special. The 30-second teaser features unsuspecting swimmers, various types of sharks and a surprise performance by rock legend Billy Idol.

This year’s festivities kick off earlier and will go on longer than ever before in the event's 28-year history. Discovery Channel revealed its decision to bump the highly anticipated week of shark-themed programming up a month, to July 5. The network has also decided that seven days of all-shark-everything just isn’t enough, as Discovery plans to air a second round of shark specials in August. According to Entertainment Weekly, viewers can expect to see many reboots of some of their favorite shows, including “Air Jaws” and “Great White Serial Killer.”

One more major change: After facing serious backlash for featuring fictional specials such as “Megalodon: the Monster Shark Lives,” and “Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine,” Discovery’s programming president Rich Ross has taken a stand. He promised viewers that that type of shows has “run its course,” adding that it wasn’t a good fit for the network in the first place, despite the high ratings.

Shark Week has been gracing television sets across the country for 28 years. In its 27th edition, Shark Week drew in an estimated 42 million viewers or higher according to Variety. During the 7-day air period, the network was ranked No. 1 amongst primetime cable networks for adults. Entertainment Weekly previously reported that this year, which Discovery Channel has dubbed the “Summer of the Shark,” will be the biggest we’ve ever seen. The network plans to air more shark-themed shows than ever before. They are also taking the popular programming to new locations, including Cuba, Taiwan and the Arctic.