Fans Wait With Bait-ed Breath ... Animal Planet's Best-Performing Series Ever Returns for More Freshwater Horror in 'RIVER MONSTERS'

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Last April, extreme angler and biologist Jeremy Wade searched the world for legendary and flesh-eating freshwater fish with the debut of RIVER MONSTERS on Animal Planet, pulling in monster-sized ratings. From tiny piranha that can tear apart humans in the Amazon to large killer catfish in India that feed on dead bodies, Jeremy has seen it all ... Or has he?  The first season last spring pulled in an average of more than a million households (1.05M) across its seven premiere episodes, making it the best-performing series in network history.  The series averaged more than 1.4M P2+ viewers.

Now, viewers will take a dive into another terrific seven episodes as RIVER MONSTERS returns for a new season on Sunday, April 18, at 10 PM (ET/PT) on Animal Planet.  Jeremy travels to southeast Asia to track what's thought to be the largest freshwater fish – the giant freshwater stingray. Also known locally as the "wish you were dead" fish, this UFO-shaped marine monstrosity is said to measure about 16-feet long and seven feet across and is approximately 1,300 pounds. But what's really killer is that its got an 18-inch barbed, bayonet-like tail that could whip extremely painful venom through an unfortunate passerby – though that doesn't stop Jeremy on a hunt for this mysterious monster.

Jeremy's adventures will continue to take him all over the world to solve freshwater fish mysteries in such locations as The Congo, Thailand, South Africa and even Florida to try to capture some amazing creatures and tell their tales. There's the freshwater fish that can grow as long as a whale, a species of shark that lives in fresh water 100 miles from the sea, and a fish with teeth as big as a lion's as well as other creatures and moments captured on film for the first time.

"People want to believe there's something out there, lurking in the remote corners of the world, right on the muddy bottom of the lake where we swim or in our own backyards," notes Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet Media.  "The creatures Jeremy finds in RIVER MONSTERS are so deeply satisfying -- primordial nature incarnate.  It's a quest for near- mythic creatures and a detective story with all the pleasures of a narrative. But it's even better because it's real. The monsters are real, and Jeremy Wade is an authentic guide."

But what would stop Jeremy's quest to solve these enigmas?  Viewers must tune in each week to find out if there's any mission he's not willing to take. This season, expect to be reeled in as Jeremy tries to prove the authenticity of Alaska's native legendary monster that's fabled to drag people from their boats into an icy grave. Ride along as Jeremy "wades" through the Zambezi River for the bull shark, travels to southeast Asia for the giant snakehead and to the Congo River for the goliath tiger fish.

"Freshwater is probably the last frontier of wildlife filmmaking," adds Wade. "Even big-budget film expeditions to rainforests and mountains regularly miss the spectacular underwater inhabitants. So even in the 21st century, there are genuine mysteries to be solved and discoveries to be made in rivers and ultimately shown to the outside world.  'Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it's not fish they are after' wrote renowned American literary master Henry David Thoreau.  In a sense, this is true of all the viewers who have tuned in to RIVER MONSTERS.  It's the adventure...the thrill...the extreme risk...and the 'moment of discovery' that people crave."

RIVER MONSTERS is a production of Icon Films for Animal Planet.  Harry and Laura Marshall are the executive producers for Icon Films, and Lisa Lucas is the executive producer for Animal Planet.  Charlie Foley is vice president of development for Animal Planet.  Season one of RIVER MONSTERS is available for purchase at AnimalPlanetStore.com.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment.  APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.

SOURCE Animal Planet