'Sharknado 2' gets an official title thanks to tweeters

NEW YORK, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Syfy says it has decided to call its New York-set sequel "Sharknado 2: The Second One" after considering 5,000 Twitter submissions for its naming contest.

"Since Twitter played such a huge role in the success of the original movie, we wanted to use that platform to ask our fans to name 'Sharknado 2,'" Thomas Vitale, Syfy's executive vice president of programming and original movies, said in a statement Thursday. "This response is another reminder of how 'Sharknado' has become a pop culture phenomenon. We want to thank all our viewers for their wonderful contributions to keeping up the shark-mentum."

"Sharknado 2: The Second One" is to premiere on the cable network next July.

In the first "Sharknado" TV movie, regulars of a beach-side bar -- including owner Fin (played by Ian Ziering), bartender Nova (played by Cassie Scerbo) and local drunk George (played by John Heard) -- teamed up with Fin's ex-wife April (played by Tara Reid) to investigate why sharks are swimming through the streets of Los Angeles and falling from the skies.

No casting has been announced yet for the second film.