Discovery Channel has just picked its first-ever Chief Shark Officer, and the honor goes to ... Andy Samberg.

Samberg, a longtime player on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," will host the 24th annual Shark Week celebration -- Discovery's marine-themed summer programming celebration -- which will include filming on-air "wraps," a special and possibly even a "dive with the apex predators."

Shark Week has become a Discovery signature and was watched by a record total of nearly 31 million viewers last year, according to the channel.

"I'm overjoyed about being appointed CSO," Samberg said in a statement. "Everyone loves Shark Week. It's the Bill Cosby of week-long television blocks dedicated to sea animals."

This is not Samberg's first on-screen brush with dangerous animals, however. "SNL" fans already know him as one of the geniuses behind the long-running video skit "Laser Cats."

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-- Scott Collins

twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT

Photo: Andy Samberg. Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images