Animal Planet’s “Monster Week” 2018 will kick off with the 100th and final episode of “Finding Bigfoot,” TheWrap has learned exclusively. Not a bad way to get things going, or to finally bid adieu to a fan-favorite TV series.
The week-long celebration will be hosted by Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Conchords”), Dan Schreiber and Buttons of podcast “The Cryptid Factor,” and it also includes new episodes of “River Monsters,” “Expedition Unknown,” “Deadliest Place on Earth” and “World’s Scariest Animal Attacks,” along with a slew of specials, we’re told.
We’ve got the trailer for the annual event posted above and more details below — the news and footage is all ours, not that we’re trying to be monsters about it.
“Monster Week” premieres Sunday, May 27 — that’s Memorial Day Weekend, by the way — at 8/7c with the 100th and final episode of “Finding Bigfoot,” which returns to television after more than a year-long hiatus.
The two-hour special features Bigfoot Field Research Organization president Matt Moneymaker, researchers James “Bobo” Fay and Cliff Barackman and skeptical scientist Ranae Holland as they travel to the 50th anniversary celebration of the Patterson Gimlin film, which is often referred to as the holy grail of Bigfoot footage and the most famous piece of evidence ever recorded.
Cutting-edge technology brings forth all-new details of the creature captured on this film and leaves our investigators more convinced than ever about its authenticity, per Animal Plant. A farewell retrospective on the series follows.
Here are the new specials– all series descriptions are in Animal Planet’s own words:
“Finding Bigfoot”
(Sunday, May 27 at 8/7c)
The team of investigators returns for the 100th episode! In a two-hour “Monster Week” special, the team travels to Willow Creek California to help celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the most famous piece of Bigfoot footage, the Patterson Gimlin film. The discovery of a new copy of the film brings forth the biggest Bigfoot discovery in decades, showing the clearest image of the creature in 50 years. Immediately following is a one-hour special that features the “Finding Bigfoot” investigators and crew as they share their own stories and experiences together which spans a decade.
“The Lost Kingdom of The Yeti”
(Monday. May 28 at 8/7c)
From the Bhutanese wilderness, scientist and yeti-hunter Mark Evans hears fresh reports of repeated sightings and mysterious prints in the snow. Taking into consideration recent developments in DNA-science that could allow the creature responsible to be identified, Mark mounts a considerable expedition into the Himalayas and takes his search for the Yeti further than ever before. With inspired believers, a medical disaster, a forbidden mountain and a privileged appointment with royalty, this is an epic “Monster Week” adventure.
“Weird, True & Freaky”
(Airing all week at 10/9c starting Monday, May 28)
These are the scariest, most unbelievable animal encounters from across the globe caught on video! Whether attacking from above, or emerging from the depths, prepare to witness nature’s most terrifying confrontations gone awry. And things get even more shocking – bizarre, alien-like beings prove that in the animal kingdom, anything is possible. We’re counting down the top 10 most eye-popping moments caught on video.
“Monsters of The Abyss”
(Tuesday, May 29 at 8/7c)
Richie Kohler and Evan Kovacs are deep ocean technical divers and marine investigators on the hunt for sea monsters in the British Isles. They are drawn to the North Channel by the recent discovery of a German U-boat wreck that may be the legendary UB-85, long-rumored to have been attacked by a sea monster in the waning days of WW1. Along the way, they travel to Scotland to meet recent eyewitnesses to the most legendary sea monster of all – the Loch Ness Monster, and to investigate any possible links between “Nessie” and the beast that may have attacked UB-85.
“Fear Island”
(Sunday, June 3 at 8/7c)
Veteran wildlife conservationist Bradley Trevor Grieve leads an elite team into uncharted Alaskan wilderness in search of Grandfather – a bear locals believe is the largest to ever roam the earth. To prove the massive predator’s existence, the team will rely on ancient indigenous tracking techniques to obtain DNA and video evidence of the beast. But as they track it deeper into its deadly domain – an island with the densest concentration of bears on the planet – they realize that their greatest challenge will be surviving the expedition.