Dancing With The Stars' Tom Bergeron Is Returning To TV, And Here's Why He Was The 'Perfect Choice' For Shark Week
Discovery's most jaw-dropping week of the year has arrived in the 2025 TV schedule, with the 37th annual Shark Week kicking off on July 20. Viewers can look forward to an assortment of great whites, bulls, hammerheads, makos and more beyond the usual heavy-hitters, but the week-long celebration of sharks is kicking off with a special that's the first of its kind: Dancing with Sharks. None other than former Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron is on board, and returning Shark Week host Kinga Philipps spoke with CinemaBlend about why he was the perfect pick even when a DWTS mirrorball trophy isn't involved.
Dancing with Sharks is the first installment of Shark Week 2025, airing on Sunday, July 20 at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery, followed by the latest entry in the fan-favorite Air Jaws series. Tom Bergeron is on board to host as five divers face off with underwater routines with sharks as their partners. Species include hammerheads, tigers, and nurse sharks with their own kinds of dance moves. (If you're a Shark Week regular, you likely have a good guess about which one of those three options is probably the least dangerous underwater dance partner!)
Fans will have to tune in to see what it takes for a competitor to actually come out on top, but TV journalist and Shark Week returnee Kinga Philipps spoke with CinemaBlend during Discovery's press junket for the seven-day event. She shared why Dancing with Sharks is a strong choice for the very first show of this week's entire lineup:
That's a great show to open up Shark Week because it is so novel, it is so unusual, and it is so darn cool. I think also why it's so fun is people don't know what to expect. You know, I keep getting the question of, 'Are the sharks actually dancing?' And the answer is, 'Yeah, they actually are.' I think people are really going to be wowed by the sharks, the shark behavior. There's a lot of really cool information about sharks, but also about the skills of the handlers themselves. I mean, they are extraordinary.
Apparently, Discovery isn't being sensationalist by releasing a show called Dancing with Sharks, and there genuinely will be shark dancing! And just like it was fitting to bring in Olympic great Michael Phelps for a special about shark swimming speed, who better to appear in a show about dancing sharks than Tom Bergeron himself?
While Tom Bergeron has had a long and prolific career, he's likely best known for his years hosting America's Funniest Home Videos and of course Dancing with the Stars. Now that the controversy surrounding his exit from DWTS has cooled down, he's bringing his dance hosting talents to a program with much more unruly performers than just the celebs strutting their stuff. Kinga Philipps, who made history as the first female Shark Week host in 33 years, shared what Bergeron brings to Dancing with Sharks:
I mean, Tom is a legend through and through. He is the nicest, most awesome guy. And truly, you know, he is like the father of hosting, and because he is a master of ceremonies for other dance shows, he was just kind of the perfect choice for this. I think he was not only perfect because of his background with Dancing with the Stars, but also just the energy that he brings to this, and the enthusiasm and the excitement and just being such like a good quality human being. He's perfect.
Bergeron wasn't only a good fit for Dancing with Sharks because he earned so many fans via Dancing with the Stars, and I found it sweet to hear that he brought such a great energy to a project that's so different from what he's worked on before. I haven't watched every episode of America's Funniest Home Videos when he was the host, but I'm pretty confident that none of them involved dancing sharks!
When I noted to Kinga Philipps that there's clearly a reason why Tom Bergeron had decades' worth of fans before joining Shark Week, she responded "Exactly!" and confirmed that "it's all tried and true" because he's "a great guy." For an early look at Bergeron's return to hosting a dancing TV show (of sorts), check out the clip below:
If nothing else, Tom Bergeron was able to dress down more for Dancing with Sharks than his usual suit, tie, and pocket square from DWTS. Tune in to Discovery on Sunday, July 20 at 8 p.m. ET to check out Dancing with Sharks as the very first special of Shark Week 2025. Of the species showcased in the clip, I know I'd pick a nurse shark if I had to deliver an underwater dance routine, but I'll be happier to watch from the comfort of my land-locked couch when it comes to this production.
Shark Week will continue with new specials in the primetime hours through Saturday, July 26. It just remains to be seen if any records will be broken this year like what Shark Week 2024 with John Cena accomplished. You'll also have the option to watch post-primetime with an HBO Max subscription.
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