Mer People is the new 4 part docuseries on Netflix with a stranger than fiction story about real life mermaids. The series follows several perfomers as they try to make it in the industry where few professional gigs exist. Mermaid Sparkles is a hopeful living in Arkansas where she's land locked for the most part. She gets to practice in community pools alongside senior water aerobics class members. Working a day restaurant job, she's had a dream of becoming a full time mermaid since her father told her about Florida's famous Weeki Wachee mermaid shows. Weeki Wachee is at a state park with live mermaid shows. It's been shut down but the mystique continues. We follow Sparkles as she travels around the country to audtition and make it in this half a billion dollar industry.
We meet Eric Ducharme a former Wachee performer and founder of MerTailor a foundational mermaid tail manufacturer. He's opened his own thousands of gallons brick and mortar swimming attraction that he's determined to build into a premier mermaid attraction. We learn that as a gay man with Tourette's mermaiding saved him and brought balance to his life. His is one of a few stories where mermaiding saved a life and gave it purpose.
Mermaid Morgana Alba is the founder of Circus Siren Pod an elite mermaiding troupe. She talks about the athleticism involved in the sport and the dangers of it. Hypothermia being a major concern. The people who swim in it are professional athletes but it is still a danger art.
Mermaid Blixunami is a mer man out of Charelston, South Carolina who we get to see work hard on his pursuit of the dream. He concentrates on singing in Tik Tok videos to enhance his mermaiding skills. One of the opportunities he pursues is a spot on a cruise that's hosting a mer people competition to see who will become the King and Queen of the high seas.
Back to Sparkles. She journeys to Florida to audition for Ducharme's new water attraction. She doesn't get it and you feel her devastation. But, she does get a spot in a Circus Siren Pod show in Las Vegas which is a good break for her. It's fascinating to see what goes into the show and it's a joy to see her face light up underwater as she performs. She gets her chance.
From watching them practice in community pools to learning about the fashion and function of their tails to the personal stories of what attracts them to this culture, Mer People takes you into a strangely beautiful side of life.
