ITV commissions natural history entertaining new hybrid format SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters

ITV commissions natural history Powerhouse Plimsoll Productions’ entertaining new hybrid format SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters

Coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of Jaws, the show will challenge ocean-fearing celebrities to face nature’s most terrifying underwater predator – sharks.

Plimsoll to shop format stateside this week

ITV can today announce it has commissioned UK-based Plimsoll Productions (Super/Natural, A Bug’s Life), an ITV Studios company internationally renowned for its hallmark natural history and factual entertainment content, to produce a new entertainment and wildlife crossover format SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters. The show will see the expertise of ITV Entertainment combined with the natural history legacy of Plimsoll Productions. 

Slated to air next year in time with the 50th Anniversary of the three-time Oscar-winning film Jaws, the show will dare a group of ocean-phobic celebrities to confront their greatest fear – sharks. Throughout their adrenaline-fueled, challenge-heavy journey in the Bahamas – the shark capital of the world – these A-listers will push past their limits to come nose to nose with nature’s ‘villains.’ Their firsthand experiences will provide immeasurable excitement and new perspective; they’ll come to appreciate sharks’ valuable place on the food chain and in our ecosystem, recognizing that a world devoid of these notoriously terrifying creatures is downright frightening.  

The celebrities will be tasked with diving with a different species of shark, with the breeds getting bigger and more dangerous each time. Bimini, the Bahamas island where the show will be filmed, is home to around 7-10 different shark types including Hammerheads, Bull sharks and Tiger sharks. 

And if that isn't enough, the celebrities will also face fear inducing challenges whilst learning first hand the important role sharks play in our oceans.

“The team at Plimsoll is uniquely positioned to pioneer this format that blends conservation with wildly entertaining pop culture,” says Karen Plumb, Head of Factual Entertainment, Plimsoll Productions. “We’re constantly looking for innovative approaches to wildlife storytelling and are certain that our fish-out-of-water spin – delivering 50 years after Jaws – will transform the world’s perception of these critical predators before it’s too late.”

Katie Rawcliffe, Head of Entertainment Commissioning ITV said: “We’re super excited to be combining the work of Plimsoll - a Blue Chip natural history production company - with the expertise of ITV Entertainment. SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters promises to be a once in a lifetime challenge for some of the bravest celebrities out there.”

Celebrity casting for SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters is currently underway; Plimsoll is also actively pitching a U.S. adaptation. 

SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters is commissioned by Head of Entertainment Commissioning ITV, Katie Rawcliffe and Commissioning Editor Entertainment ITV, Kevin O’Brien. Produced by Plimsoll Productions. Karen Plumb, James Smith, Andrea Jackson, Alan Eyres and Grant Mansfield are executive producers. International distribution for SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters will be handled by ITV Studios.  

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About Plimsoll Productions: 

Headquartered in Bristol, Plimsoll Productions, an ITV Studios company, is one of the largest television production companies in the UK. Its BAFTA, Academy and Emmy Award-winning team specialize in wildlife, documentary, live and factual-entertainment shows and is a global leader in natural-history programs. Since the business was founded in 2013, Plimsoll has grown rapidly with a total workforce of more than 400 across its offices in Los Angeles, Bristol and Cardiff. It is behind more than 50 series, 14 live shows and seven films, including the James Cameron-executive produced and Benedict Cumberbatch-narrated Emmy winner  Super/Natural (National Geographic/Disney+), Emmy nominee Animal (Netflix), the Awkwafina-narrated series A Real Bug’s Life (Disney+), Night on Earth (Netflix), Tiny World (AppleTV+), Handmade: Good with Wood (Channel 4) and the recently launched Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold (Disney+), among many more.

About ITV Media & Entertainment:

In ITV Media & Entertainment we commission brilliant programmes in a full range of genres, including a wealth of entertainment formats, high-quality drama, must-watch sporting events, impactful factual and award-winning current affairs and journalism. We make this available to audiences through our family of channels, the biggest commercial network in the UK, and through ITVX the new ad-funded, free streaming home for ITV and new programme premieres. ITVX also features a subscription option, for audiences who want to watch ad-free, and get access to BritBox UK.