Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” is in full swing, and one documentary has a fatal shark attack in Wellfleet in 2018 as its main focus.
“After the Bite,” directed by award-winning filmmaker Ivy Meeropol, premieres on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service Max on Wednesday, July 26, at 10 p.m. EST.
The documentary focuses on the moment and aftermath of an attack that killed 26-year-old Revere resident Arthur Medici at Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet. The trailer presents a buildup of shark sightings that boiled over following Medici’s death.
“How far can humans push nature before it bites back?” Max’s description for the documentary reads. “That’s the question in this timely documentary that explores the conflict in Cape Cod’s idyllic coastal community after a 2018 fatal shark attack rocked both visitors and residents. With the number of great white sharks increasing every year, those charged with protecting the public have been forced to address the issue.”
Meeropol’s documentary showcases the duality of scientists preserving and studying white sharks, while local residents cope with a wild ocean where warming waters bring sharks north to prey on their food source, North Atlantic gray seals. This causes problems for fishermen who, according to the trailer, have to avoid these seals now that their populations have rebounded with the help of the Marine Mammals Protection Act.
“Humankind must learn humility in the face of nature,” one voice says towards the end of the trailer.
Featured in the documentary is the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, which tracks and studies white sharks seen around Cape Cod and all along the Massachusetts coast. Meeropol spoke with conservancy staff scientist Megan Winton and senior fisheries scientist at Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Greg Skomal, according to a conservancy tweet.
After a book event for his recently released autobiography following his career studying white sharks, Skomal took to Facebook to promote the documentary.
“I had a late (but great!) night last night at our ‘Chasing Shadows’ book event with my co-author Ret Talbot at Mystic Aquarium and I’m on the water all day today, so I’ll probably be in bed early, but if you get a chance, tune in to ‘After The Bite,’ which premieres tonight (Wednesday) on HBO & MAX at 10 p.m. EST,” Skomal posted. “This film is a great companion piece to ‘Chasing Shadows,’ and I’m glad I had a chance to be a part of it.”
Max subscribers can tune in to “After the Bite” when it drops Wednesday night. You can also stream HBO on DirectTV and Sling. To get to Max from Amazon Prime Video, go to the link here.
