Mermaid videos are drawing more viewers, thanks to renewed interest sparked by the Animal Planet's "New Evidence" 2013 sci-fi mockumentary. After the show drew 3.6 million viewers, the audience moves on to YouTube for more videos. What was behind the showrunner's mind in making the fake mermaid documentary?

A year ago, Animal Planet's "Mermaids: The Body Found," registered 3.4 million views. Obviously, producers of the series saw the revenue potential of their creative output. And so they did a sequel.

"We wanted people to approach the story with a sense of possibility and a sense of wonder," Charlie Foley, creator, writer, and executive producer of the series, told ABC News. "Hopefully that's what 'Mermaids' allowed viewers to do . . . allowed them to suspend their disbelief."

"I think it works because you can believe they are real, and personally, I don't think there's any story more appealing than a legend that can be believed," said Foley.

Foley appears to sense the vast number of people who look at mermaids as "a legend that can be believed." Indeed, the fake mermaid documentary proves nothing but a lasting interest on mermaids. That, and the fact that many viewers don't pay attention when the credits roll after a movie or TV show. For those who couldn't tell right away that the show was entirely fictional, YouTube user Jennifer Mast has this to say:

"(The credits) says 'Scientific theory, CGI animation and dramatic sequences are used to bring the imaginary creatures and their surroundings to life.' Listed under the genre, SCI-FI. It is a fake documentary meant for entertainment. Fact. Look it up on IMDB.com. They ARE actors."

But who can blame those who wanted to believe mermaids are for real? They have rich imagination. Anything is possible for them. And for some, mermaids are simply too cute to stay in fiction.

Check out this Twitter photo -- the reactions to which show that there are people who are truly fascinated by mermaids. The strange fictional ocean creatures, in this little girl's case, are associated to "cute" and "adorable," among many other positive things.

The little mermaid :) twitter.com/CuteGirliePics...

— Cute Girlie Pics (@CuteGirliePics) June 1, 2013

On the other hand, there are people who just couldn't take mermaids seriously. Here is another Twitter-posted photo:

Amazing pic I captured today. Proved#mermaids do exist twitter.com/AntLombardi/st... — Anthony Lombardi (@AntLombardi) June 2, 2013

Mermaid Video 2013: The 'New Evidence' Interview

Mermaid Video 2013: 'New Evidence' Shows Mermaids are Real in Fake Documentary

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