Submarine Shark Hoax: 'Shark Of Darkness: Wrath Of Submarine' Is Discovery Channel's Latest Shark Week Mockumentary

Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine premiered Sunday night on the Discovery Channel to kick off the network’s annual Shark Week.

Submarine Shark Hoax: ‘Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine’

According to Discovery, Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine “explores the legend of ‘Submarine,’ an enormous great white shark off the coast of South Africa. This 30-foot shark is said to be the largest great white shark of all time. Locals believe that this shark is responsible for countless fatal attacks, but its existence has never been proven. This documentary explores the evidence and asks the question: can Submarine exist?”

Wrath of Submarine claims that the Submarine shark, measuring up to 30 feet long, was a menace that victimized False Bay, South Africa between the 70s and 90s. In the lead-up to the premiere of the “documentary,” Discovery Channel hosted a blog penned by “Senior Fellow at the South African Institute for Marine Research” Mel Thurmond. Curiously, Thurmond’s social media activity dates back only to January and there’s no such institute in South Africa.

“We’re talking about this legendary shark, Submarine, who has this dark past,” Discovery’s VP of development and production Michael Sorensen told Entertainment Weekly. “You gotta go into the heart of darkness to find something—well then, could this shark be the Shark of Darkness? It just kinda stuck, and we couldn’t shake it.”

At the conclusion of the made-for-TV movie, a vague disclaimer followed the credits, which read: “[The Submarines] existence is highly controversial. Events have been dramatized, but many believe Submarine exists to this day.”