The documentrary's 3.6 million viewers set an all-time record for the cable network.
There might not be many substantiated facts behind Animal Planet’s recent special “Mermaids: The New Evidence,” but the special that examined the plausibility of the existence of the mythological creatures — drew 3.6 million viewers, an all-time record for the cable network.
The show also drove Animal Planet to the No. 1 slot in the key demographic among 25- to 54-year-olds.
And the ripple effect is being felt across social media platforms, where “Mermaids” was a trending topic. One and a half million streams of Mermaids-related video has surfaced online since Sunday’s telecast, according to the network’s figures.
The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration subsequently released a statement saying, “No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.”
Even days after the "New Evidence" broadcast, the subject continues to trend across social media, where users have engaged in ongoing debates about the veracity of Mermaid claims.
“What's so convincing is the consistency of how they look. in all of the images and videos we've seen they look the same #mermaids,” one Twitter user wrote. “Think about it there are so many things on this earth that we don't know about #mermaids may be one of them,” another wrote.
“The phenomenon of 'Mermaids' has truly been a watershed — and a watercooler — moment for Animal Planet," Marjorie Kaplan, Animal Planet president, said in a statement.“These extraordinary television specials have electrified, challenged and entertained television audiences and online fans alike."
The program’s producer Charlie Foley posited that humans’ strong fascination with mermaids comes from their own evolution. “They are a reflection not only of our psyche but also our evolutionary selves,” he told Mother Nature Network. “[They represent] a direction we might have gone, and a direction, if you believe the legends and our conjecture in the film, that one branch of our family tree may very well have gone.”
But not everyone thought that the program’s impact was necessarily positive. LA Times writer and “TV Skeptic” Ed Stockly wrote, "It's remarkable how well this fake documentary mimics actual programs claiming to reveal actual creatures. Substitute Mermaids for Bigfoot, Chupacabra, the Loch Ness monster, ghosts and aliens, and it's hard to make a distinction between what's real but faked, and what's really fake.”
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