‘Deadliest Catch’ Season 21 Premiere Date Revealed

Deadliest Catch is hitting the seas for its highly anticipated 21st season.

Discovery Channel announced Thursday that the new season of Deadliest Catch will premiere on Friday, Aug. 1, following the Dutch Harbor fleet on a “gold rush-style” race to catch monster red king crab in uncharted territory.

“When fishermen discover monster red king crab in the far west, a gold rush-style race ignites among the Dutch Harbor fleet,” the season’s official description reads. “To claim their share of the billion-dollar bounty, captains and crews must brave unforgiving 50-foot seas to reach abandoned Adak Island, venturing farther west than anyone has dared in over 30 years and beyond the bounds of rescue.”

“Navigating through unfamiliar territory to secure the lucrative haul, the crews face extreme conditions and major ship malfunctions that put them in serious life-threatening situations,” the description continues, “leaving the fleet at the mercy of the tumultuous western Bering Sea.”

Season 21’s captains and ships have yet to be confirmed, but Captain Jake Anderson previously announced he and the crew of the F/V Titan Explorer would be included in the upcoming action, announcing incorrectly on Facebook that Deadliest Catch would return in mid-July.

Discovery additionally announced on Thursday two new shows set to premiere in July —Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse (July 27) and Animals on Drugs (July 28).

On the new Naked and Afraid spinoff, “the survivalists face the franchise’s toughest challenge yet as they endure extreme heat and drought as well as unpredictable lions, elephants, black mambas and more without food, water and clothing” as they’re dropped into “forgotten corners of South Africa – spanning a ghost town, a vehicle junkyard, a cemetery, and even a mine shaft.”

In a franchise first, survivalists will not be extracted but must escape their surroundings and find their way back to civilization at the end of the challenge.

Animals on Drugs stars wildlife biologist Forrest Galante as he “dives into the bizarre and shocking world of animals under the influence,” from drunk bears to meth-addled gators and Pablo Escobar’s “cocaine hippos.”

Combining boots-on-the-ground investigation and cutting-edge science to track these creatures, Galante will uncover how they got hooked, what it means for their ecosystems and how people can help them recover before it’s too late.

Deadliest Catch Season 21 will premiere on Friday, Aug 1 at 8 pm ET.