Netflix’s MerPeople Docu Drops 3 Days Ahead of The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid is set to come to theaters next week, and though Netflix won’t make any money off of it, they’ve decided to ride on the mermaid hype with a trailer for their upcoming documentary about mermaid performers.

Watch the trailer for MerPeople:

MerPeople dives into the fascinating world of underwater performers who have turned their love for the mystical sea creatures into real-world careers. From putting on dazzling small-town shows in Florida to the crowning of the King and Queen of the Seas in the Bahamas, this series will take you on a journey of passion and perseverance. Get ready to set sail on an unforgettable voyage and immerse yourself in a world where fantasy becomes reality.

We’ve known for a while that there are professional mermaid performers who specialize in convincing audiences that they are an actual mythical creature, but you can quickly disregard how much work it takes to pull that performance off, from being able to hold your breathe for a long time to making graceful movements in the water; that doesn’t even count coming up with your mermaid look and finding out the material and prosthetics that could last in water.

Aquaman has already proved just how hard it is to convincingly put people underwater on the big screen, so imagine that work that must go to actually playing a mermaid live. It should be interesting.

Catch MerPeople on Netflix when it premieres on May 23, three days before The Little Mermaid swims into cinemas.