10 years ago, I had this list in my head.

I never dreamt that I get to the end of that list.

So, I’ve decided to end my river monsters journey.

For nearly a decade, Jeremy Wade captivated millions with tales of monstrous fish lurking in the world’s most remote rivers.

But behind the thrilling hunts and daring escapes, a different story marked by unseen struggles, dangerous secrets, and difficult decisions was unfolding.

What led to the sudden end of a global phenomenon? What pressures built up beneath the surface, forcing the man himself to step back? After years of silence, Wade is finally speaking out.

What he reveals challenges everything we thought we knew about the show.

The birth of a global phenomenon.

Jeremy Wade’s path to creating River Monsters began long before television cameras entered the picture.

For nearly 20 years, he worked as a biology teacher and traveled extensively, often venturing into remote areas with little modern infrastructure.

During these journeys, he spoke with fishermen, villagers, and local guides, recording their accounts of unusual incidents involving freshwater creatures.

Some described giant fish capable of swallowing dogs.

Others spoke of people dragged under by unseen forces, and many recounted unexplained injuries or disappearances linked to rivers and lakes.

WDE’s careful documentation of these stories gradually built a global collection of freshwater legends.

In 2007, WDE’s travels were abruptly interrupted when he contracted a severe case of malaria during an expedition.

The illness was life-threatening and recovery was slow.

It was during this period of enforced rest that he began developing the framework for a television series.

His vision was to merge three key elements.

Detailed detective style investigation, extreme angling in challenging and often dangerous environments, and the authentic voices of the people who lived alongside these waters.

The aim was to solve real life mysteries, not by exaggerating them for entertainment, but by approaching them as factual cases to be verified or disproven.

On April 5th, 2009, River Monsters premiered on Animal Planet.

The debut episodes were filmed largely in the Amazon Basin, where Wade investigated two legendary fish, the Pariba catfish and the Arapima.

These species are central to local folklore, often blamed for attacks or deaths.

The show followed Wade as he interviewed witnesses, gathered physical evidence, and then attempted to locate and capture the fish to understand its true nature.

This combination of adventure, science, and cultural storytelling made the program stand out from other fishing or wildlife shows.

The audience response was immediate and strong.

By the end of its first season, River Monsters had become Animal Planet’s highest rated series, averaging more than 1.

3 million viewers in the United States per episode.

Viewers were drawn not only to the suspense of each investigation, but also to WDE’s calm, methodical approach.

He avoided sensationalism, focusing instead on accuracy and respect for both the animals and the communities featured.

Scientists and conservationists appreciated that the program presented biological facts clearly, while general audiences enjoyed the sense of mystery and discovery.

The show’s second season expanded its reach dramatically.

Filming locations ranged from the turbulent waters of the Congo River in central Africa to the icy foothills of the Himalayas in South Asia.

Each location brought new species, new cultural perspectives, and new challenges for the crew.

By moving quickly into international waters, the series established itself as a truly global production with stories that could come from almost anywhere on Earth.

But even during this early wave of success, Wade was privately noting certain troubling patterns in his fieldwork.

changes in rivers, species availability, and local conditions.

These observations, carefully recorded in his personal journals, would remain undisclosed for years.

While this global momentum gave river monsters its unique appeal, it also set in motion challenges that would prove far more difficult to overcome.

expanding the hunt.

By 2011, River Monsters had already built a global following, and the show’s third season continued to broaden its scope.

That year, Jeremy Wade and his crew filmed in extreme and unpredictable environments, including confirmed expeditions to Alaska and the Meong River in Southeast Asia.

These were not just dramatic backdrops.

They introduced both environmental and logistical challenges that raised the stakes for each investigation.

One of the season’s most memorable targets was the giant freshwater stingray, Himanta cowry.

Native to the Mikong, this elusive species can exceed 15 ft in length and weigh several hundred kg.

Capturing it on camera required days of waiting and punishing heat, working closely with local fishermen and managing safety in strong river currents.

The stingray episode became a standout, combining scientific inquiry with high physical risk.

In subsequent years, the production entered even more difficult terrain.

In 2012, the crew filmed in Guana, a confirmed destination known for its remote rainforest rivers.

Travel there required navigating dense jungle, sometimes taking days just to reach fishing sites.

The conditions were difficult with equipment transported by dugout canoes, weather delays, and communication challenges.

According to crew interviews, the logistical pressure was far greater than most viewers ever realized.

As the hunt expanded, Wade began returning to earlier locations, but with new objectives.

These weren’t reruns.

Instead, the team focused on different species, deeper parts of river systems, or long-standing mysteries that hadn’t been resolved.

This evolving approach reflected a practical reality.

The number of large, mysterious freshwater species that could be ethically and safely pursued was finite.

Every new story required a more creative investigation.

The production process became more demanding as the seasons progressed.

What once took a few weeks now stretched to 2 months or more per episode.

Tight filming windows, rough terrain, and uncertain wildlife behavior meant there was no guarantee of success.

The pressure to deliver compelling results on screen increased even as the environments grew harder to manage.

Behind the scenes, the toll was mounting.

Constant travel, exposure to unpredictable weather, and long filming days left little time for rest.

According to reports from interviews, the pace was becoming unsustainable for some.

By season 7 in 2015, a few longtime crew had reportedly stepped away from the show entirely.

Wade too began to feel the burden of sustaining the series at such a high standard.

Though never stated publicly at the time, some close to the production have since noted that the emotional and physical strain was becoming harder to ignore.

While audiences continued to marvel at each discovery, River Monsters was evolving behind the scenes, shifting from a bold expedition series to a complex, high-risk operation that tested the limits of its team.

The physical and emotional toll.

By 2013, River Monsters had earned a reputation for venturing into some of the most remote and dangerous waters on Earth.

But behind the dramatic footage and monstersized fish was a grueling reality for Jeremy Wade and his crew.

The risks were not just for the camera.

In fact, Wade himself experienced several near-death moments during the show’s long run.

“One of the most serious came while filming in the Congo, where he contracted a severe case of malaria.

“It’s something that kills people every day,” Wade later told Entertainment Weekly.

I very nearly joined them.

In another terrifying moment, while wrestling an Arapima in the Amazon, Wade took a brutal hit to the chest.

“That fish basically hit me like a horse,” he recalled.

“I could still feel it 6 weeks later.

” Despite years of experience, the physical cost of filming was starting to show, and it wasn’t just Wade at risk.

During another shoot, a member of the sound crew was struck by lightning.

The bolt scorched his legs from the knees down and left the entire team shaken.

Wade described it as one of the most sobering moments on the show.

That was one of the closest calls we ever had.

It reminded us that we weren’t invincible.

These incidents weren’t isolated.

Wade also detailed a brush with death involving an electric eel.

While diving, he risked being paralyzed underwater.

A 500vt shock in the water can mean drowning.

That wasn’t just scary, it was almost the end.

Behind the scenes, the emotional strain was beginning to match the physical danger.

Long filming days, often up to 14 hours, meant working in sweltering jungles, monsoon rains, or freezing river banks.

Meals were irregular.

Sleep came in short, broken intervals.

Flights between continents were routine, and there was rarely time to decompress before facing another high-risisk situation.

WDE was now in his early 60s and even he began to feel the limits of endurance creeping in.

Crew members reportedly began quietly stepping away.

Several long-standing professionals left after season 7 in 2015.

Though their reasons were never officially stated, sources close to the production suggest burnout was a factor.

With each departure, the loss of experience added even more weight to those who remained.

None of this was visible to the audience.

The episodes aired with crisp narration, stunning visuals, and climactic fish captures.

But what was edited out, the injuries, the fatigue, the brush with lightning, the slow accumulation of physical and emotional exhaustion told a different story.

Wade never blamed the show for what came next, but he did later admit, “You don’t realize how much these things are affecting you until you stop.

” And by then, something’s already changed.

The rivers were still calling, but behind the camera, the mood had shifted.

There were fewer jokes, more silences, and a quiet, growing sense that the show was taking more than it gave.

Running out of monsters.

By 2015, River Monsters had achieved something no other wildlife documentary series had done on such a scale.

Jeremy Wade had investigated and documented over 100 species of large or dangerous freshwater fish across six continents.

Many of these were among the largest ever recorded, from giant catfish to massive stingrays.

The program’s formula, traveling to remote locations, chasing local legends, and confirming or debunking them with scientific evidence, had been applied to nearly every major river system on Earth.

As the series progressed into its later seasons, the search for new subjects became increasingly challenging.

The most famous rivers had already yielded their biggest secrets.

To find fresh stories, Wade and the crew had to push deeper into smaller, lesserknown waterways.

These rivers were often far from established infrastructure, requiring more days of travel, greater logistical coordination, and significantly higher costs.

In many cases, getting to these remote locations introduced greater safety risks from unpredictable rapids to limited access to medical care.

Wade himself was aware of the growing challenge to maintain the integrity of the show.

In one interview, he explained, “The danger is in repeating ourselves.

If we start inventing danger, we lose the truth the show was built on.

” This statement reflected his long-standing commitment to accuracy.

The power of river monsters had always come from presenting real dangers and genuine species, not stage drama or fabricated threats.

Yet, the pool of unique, highstakes, freshwater mysteries was undeniably shrinking.

Fans also began to notice patterns.

Longtime viewers picked up on episodes that revisited previously featured species.

While these episodes often explored new aspects of the animal or different angles of the story, the recurrence of familiar species led to speculation in online forums and fan discussions.

Some wondered if the show had reached its natural end point, having already covered nearly every notable monster worth chasing.

They concluded that there were no more monsters left.

But the real reason, as it would turn out, is more shocking.

From a production standpoint, these repeat visits were not about running out of ideas, but about pushing deeper into the known stories to uncover hidden details.

Still, the shift in perception among fans created pressure.

Audiences who had been thrilled by the constant novelty of earlier seasons now expected each new episode to top the last in terms of scale, risk, or discovery.

An expectation that was becoming harder to meet without compromising authenticity.

While viewers speculated that the show was suffering from creative exhaustion, there were other much more personal factors influencing WDE’s decisions, which he chose not to discuss publicly at the time and would only reveal years after the final episode aired.

The network shift at Animal Planet.

By late 2016, major changes were underway at Animal Planet.

Discovery Communications, the network’s parent company, began shifting its programming toward a softer, more family-friendly tone.

Shows featuring pets, veterinarians, and light wildlife storytelling were prioritized.

The goal was to attract a broader audience with content that was accessible, positive, and consistent in style across the network.

For a show like River Monsters, the change posed challenges.

Jeremy Wade’s series was built on realworld expeditions, remote locations, and dangerous field conditions.

Each episode involved long travel, uncertain weather, difficult permits, and a large production team.

According to media sources and production insiders, some episodes cost more than $500,000 to produce, making River Monsters one of the most expensive shows on Animal Planet at the time.

network executives reportedly began evaluating high-cost field programs more critically.

While River Monsters remained one of the channels top performers, the production model no longer aligned with the emerging brand vision.

Compared to studio-based shows or programs filmed in controlled environments, River Monsters was seen as unpredictable, costly, and logistically complex.

This trend wasn’t limited to Animal Planet.

Across the industry, networks were reducing investments in adventure documentaries.

Weather delays, injuries, medical emergencies, and international travel made such productions harder to budget and harder to schedule.

As networks moved toward consistency and efficiency, shows like River Monsters became harder to justify, even when successful.

Behind the scenes, these changes were being felt.

WDE and the team reportedly faced more push back on future plans.

Proposals that were once quickly green lit now faced budget restrictions or were reshaped to meet new guidelines.

Some crew members noticed that the tone of internal meetings had shifted.

The excitement that once surrounded big expeditions was being replaced by cautious calculations.

In public, Wade kept a professional tone.

When the end of the series was announced in 2017, he described it as the right time to conclude the show.

But in later interviews, Wade hinted that there were deeper reasons beyond the creative arc, which he chose not to share at the time.

The final season and farewell.

On April 23rd, 2017, River Monsters returned to Animal Planet for what would quietly become its final season.

There was no dramatic marketing campaign or official sendoff.

To most viewers, it appeared to be business as usual.

But as the episodes aired, longtime fans began sensing something had changed.

The show’s trademark mystery and suspense were still present, yet there was a subtle shift in tone.

There was more introspection and finality.

The season began with Killers from the Abyss and concluded with Malaysian Lake Monster on May 28th, 2017.

Behind the scenes, the production team had already come to terms with the show’s closure.

For many of them, it was the end of a journey that spanned some of the most remote and dangerous waters on Earth.

In his public statement at the time, Jeremy Wade offered a simple explanation.

Some shows can run forever, but our subject matter is finite.

10 years ago, I had a list in my head, but everything has now been ticked off and then some.

The explanation was elegant, and it made sense.

After covering nearly every large and mysterious freshwater species on the planet, the show had indeed run its natural course.

Yet, many fans couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.

Social media filled with farewell messages, tributes, and personal stories from viewers who said the show had inspired their love of nature, biology, and exploration.

To many, River Monsters wasn’t just a show.

It was a ritual, an adventure they looked forward to each season.

What most viewers did not realize was that there were more reasons behind why the show ended.

Wade would speak openly about other factors influencing the decision which he had deliberately kept private during the final season.

That revelation when it came hinted at a far deeper truth than anyone expected.

The real reason Monsters ended.

For years, the public believed that the show’s conclusion was simply because there were no new monsters left to find.

But in a recent private discussion with industry minds, Wade finally admitted that this was only part of the truth.

“I can’t hide this anymore,” he said.

Then he explained that while the supply of undiscovered giant fish was indeed dwindling, the deeper issue was that some of the rivers he had once visited could no longer support the creatures they had once held.

In just a few short years, places that had been teeming with life were now damaged beyond recognition.

The culprits were familiar but devastating.

Pollution, over fishing, and dam construction.

One of the most sobering moments of his revelation came when he described returning off camera to a location from an early season only to find the river murky and lifeless.

The monster species once common there had simply vanished, wiped out by human activity.

This wasn’t just a filming challenge.

It was a sign of a wider environmental collapse.

But habitat destruction wasn’t the only hidden factor.

Wade also revealed there had been a growing list of safety concerns for his crew.

While the show had always involved risk, several near miss incidents in politically unstable regions had been kept quiet.

These situations ranged from being caught in the middle of sudden local conflicts to narrowly avoiding accidents in hazardous terrain.

According to Wade, insurers had quietly raised the issue, hinting that future seasons might not be approved without significant restrictions that could make the show’s signature style impossible.

Another factor was ethical.

Wade admitted that over time, he began questioning whether showcasing rare or vulnerable species on a global stage could unintentionally lead to harm.

In certain regions, he worried that the publicity could encourage illegal fishing or poaching, putting already endangered animals at even greater risk.

This moral conflict became harder to ignore as conservation issues became more urgent.

Wade also confessed to a personal concern.

River monsters presented rivers as thrilling frontiers filled with mystery, but it rarely addressed the stark reality of their decline.

He feared the series might unintentionally glamorize these waters without giving viewers the full truth about the threats they faced.

Ending the show when he did was in part a way to avoid sending a misleading message.

In revealing all this, Wade shifted the public’s understanding of River Monsters.

What had seemed like a clean ratingsdriven ending was in fact a decision shaped by environmental grief, safety realities, and ethical responsibility.

With that truth out in the open, Wade began channeling his efforts into a new mission.

One focused less on catching monsters and more on saving the waters they once called home.

From monsters to conservation.

After the end of River Monsters, Jeremy Wade’s career took a new direction.

In 2018, he returned to television with Mighty Rivers, a documentary series for Animal Planet that investigated the health of some of the world’s most important rivers.

Rather than focusing on mysterious creatures, the series explored the impact of human activity such as pollution, overfishing, and damning on river ecosystems.

Each episode centered on a specific river, including the Ganges, Amazon, Mississippi, Yangty, Danube, and Zambzi.

Mighty Rivers marked a clear shift in Wade’s focus.

The tone was more urgent, less about the hunt and more about the consequences.

Wade took on the role of an investigator rather than a fisherman, using science and field interviews to uncover why certain fish populations were disappearing and how environmental degradation was spreading unnoticed.

The show maintained his onloation style, but the questions were bigger.

It wasn’t just about which creature might be lurking underwater.

It was about whether the river itself could survive.

In 2019, Wade followed up with Darkwaters, a series that continued his exploration of aquatic mysteries.

This time, the emphasis was on little understood or overlooked threats.

The show covered topics ranging from invasive species to sudden ecological collapses.

While Wade didn’t dramatically reinvent his style, his priorities had clearly shifted.

He was no longer asking, “What monster could be hiding here?” He was asking, “What’s happening to this river and why aren’t we paying attention?” Although he never directly announced a transition into activism, Mighty Rivers and Dark Waters allowed Wade to speak on behalf of ecosystems rather than just species.

Even though Wade has always maintained a sense of scientific caution, fans noticed the emotional weight in these later series.

There was a sense that the monsters he had once pursued were no longer the biggest threats.

In their place stood industrial pollution, collapsing food chains, and shrinking habitats.

Forces that were more complex and more dangerous than any single creature.

While river monsters sparked global curiosity, WDE’s post series work shifted the spotlight onto the health of the waters themselves.

It was less sensational, but in many ways more important.

And through it all, Wade remained the same calm, curious presence.

only now the stakes had changed.

What do you think about the real reason behind why River Monsters ended? Did you like the series? Tell us in the comments below.

Thank you for watching and see you in the next