Street Sharks revival: The Ultimate TMNT Knockoff deserves another show

Created at Mattel toys by David Siegel and Joe Galliani, Street Sharks began as a toyline, while the cartoon was merely a way to promote action figure sales. This was common practice at the time, and the same had even been true of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the cartoon only existed to sell the toys. The difference was that the Ninja Turtles had existed as a comic book first for a few years, then a toy company got its hands on them, whereas Street Sharks started, and ended, with the toys. Why sharks? As Galliani told Mental Floss back in 2016, “Boys love sharks.” That’s about all Mattel needed to know at the time to launch a successful toyline.