National Geographic’s SharkFest will kick off its 2024 season with Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast.
(National Geographic/Brian Roedel)
What’s Happening:
- Nat Geo is adding star power to its popular Shark Beach series, a fan-favorite staple of the summer SharkFest event.
- Marvel superstar Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) will host the latest installment, following a previous iteration with Chris Hemsworth.
- The news was announced during an entire day devoted to National Geographic at the TCA Winter Press Tour.
- Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast will shine a spotlight on Mackie’s hometown of New Orleans and the coast of Louisiana.
- The special is produced in partnership with Nutopia, with Arif Nurmohamed, Nicola Moody, and Jane Root serving as executive producers. For National Geographic, Tracy Rudolph Jackson serves as executive producer.
- The one-hour special is directed by Matt Kay.
About Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie:
- Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast follows Mackie in his hometown of New Orleans, where he grew up boating and angling and still practices the sport to date, a passion he now shares with his four sons.
- In this film, Mackie investigates a fishing phenomenon called depredation, in which a shark preys upon a fisher’s catch and consumes it before it can be retrieved. Across the globe, more and more fishers are encountering sharks, and a worrying number of sharks are taking their catch.
- After an increase in shark sightings in his hometown, Mackie sets out to learn more about these concerning cases from local fishing communities in Louisiana but discovers these human-shark encounters may be pointing to larger environmental issues across the greater Gulf of Mexico.
- Throughout the one-hour documentary special, Mackie is on a personal mission to keep the peace between coastal communities and sharks. He comes face-to-face with the ocean’s apex predators, swimming with several enormous sandbar and silky sharks and tagging a formidable 7-foot bull shark.
- Aided in his quest to assess the ever-changing environment and seek solutions to restore balance between humans, sharks and fish, Mackie ventures out alongside experts, conservationists, community leaders and fishers, including:
- Shark scientist Jasmin Graham
- Assistant professor at Florida International University Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou
- Shark researcher Dr. Marcus Drymon
- Together, they embark on an action-packed adventure through the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, working to understand this phenomenon and revitalize the place he calls home.
What They’re Saying:
- Janet Han Vissering, senior vice president, Development and Production, National Geographic: “Anthony Mackie absolutely blew our minds with his enthusiasm and curiosity throughout the filming of this new installment of SHARK BEACH. We’re so honored to be able to work with him and Nutopia on a passion project that brings him back home and underscores the importance of maintaining balance with nature so that humans and animals can continue to coexist on this beautiful planet.”