Gary Busey, Cheryl Tiegs in ‘Sharknado 4’

Sharknado 4 will return on Syfy in July, taking place five years after the east coast was ravaged in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Ian Ziering returns as world-saver Fin Shepard, while Tara Reid is set to return as April Wexler “to reveal the outcome of the fan-voted #AprilLives or #AprilDies social campaign,” says Syfy.

Other stars in the over-the-top shark-attack flick include Gary Busey as April’s father and a scientist, Cheryl Tiegs as Fin’s mother, Tommy Davidson as a playboy tech billionaire, and Imani Hakim as a soldier. David Hasselhoff and Ryan Newman too return in key roles.

Viewers experienced some Sharknado fatigue when the third installment aired last summer. Sharknado 3 drew a 0.9 live plus-same-day-rating among adults 18-49, down 33% from 2, but up from the original Sharknado. Some 2.8 million total viewers watched the premiere of Sharknado 3.

Currently filming, Sharknado 4 (working title) will of course have its share of celeb cameos.

The Asylum is producing the film. Anthony C. Ferrante returns to direct a screenplay written by Thunder Levin.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.