Shark Week is getting more scientific

Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives was Shark Week's highest-rated program in history and its least scientifically accurate. The 2013 "documentary" featured a 100-foot, 80-ton "serial killer of the seas" that's actually been extinct for millions of years. And yet when the "Super Bowl of the ocean" kicked off on Sunday, there was not a fake shark in sight.

That's because the Discovery Channel has decided to kick it old school. When the annual Shark Week began 28 years ago, its purpose was to educate people on sharks, not perpetuate the animals' false man-eating reputation. The Discovery Channel's newest head of development and production, Howard Swartz, told Mashable that he pushed the show to return to its roots. "This year we're focusing quite a bit on research and science, more so probably than we have in the past," Swartz said.

So, if you're one of the 40 million viewers expected to tune in this week, expect the same quirky titles, but without the quirky spin on the facts.

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