Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/Discovery
Not to be a fearmonger as we head into the end of the beach season, but did you know that there have been five reports of shark attacks along the coast of New York and Long Island in the last several weeks? Or that, in a move that has been somewhat unprecedented, Rockaway Beach—one of the most crowded destinations for New York City water-lovers—closed twice in the span of a week because of shark sightings?
Timing is everything, and, as Discovery unfurled its 34th rendition of its annual Shark Week lineup of programming this week, the timing was uncanny. Uncanny as in disastrous, or uncanny as in fruitful? That seems to be a matter of opinion.
“They are the best and the worst of a PR client,” Paul de Gelder, a shark attack survivor, advocate, and TV personality across various Shark Week specials, tells The Daily Beast. “We talk about how amazing they are and how they’re not after humans, and then they go and bite people. You’re just like, ‘C’mon, guys. Like, work with me…’”