While the storytelling in was convincing enough to break ratings records, the "evidence" it presented was entirely fictional.
: Characters like Dr. Paul Robertson, portrayed as whistleblowers, were actually played by actors. Mermaids: The New Evidence
: The show heavily relied on the Aquatic Ape Theory , a real but controversial evolutionary hypothesis, to provide a sense of "intellectual possibility" for the existence of mermaids. While the storytelling in was convincing enough to
: It linked the fictional discovery to the "Bloop," a real underwater sound recorded by the NOAA in 1997, which scientists have since attributed to icequakes, not marine life. : The show heavily relied on the Aquatic
: The story was so effective that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was forced to release an official statement clarifying that no evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found .
The program was a "docufiction" or mockumentary produced by as a sequel to Mermaids: The Body Found . It used a blend of real-world phenomena and fabricated narratives to create a persuasive story: