Sharko is one of the main characters in Zig & Sharko, the French animated comedy series that first aired in 2010. In the show he is a muscular shark who spends most episodes protecting the mermaid Marina from Zig, a hungry hyena constantly trying to catch her. His loud, expressive reactions became a staple of the cartoon's slapstick style. Short clips of those yells later spread on soundboards and in meme edits, where Sharko's scream is now used far beyond the series as a generic cartoon panic sound.