: 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.
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: Mermaids: The New Evidence
: 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 show heavily relied on the Aquatic