‘Sharknado 2’ unleashes flying sharks on New York

PASADENA, Calif. >> Get ready for more flying sharks.

"Sharknado 2: The Second One" will take a bite out of New York City on July 30 in Syfy’s sequel to the campy classic that aired last summer.

Ian Ziering and Tara Reid return from the original film that attracted nearly 1.37 million viewers. They’re joined by Vivica A. Fox and Mark McGrath, along with Kelly Osbourne, Judah Friedlander ("30 Rock"), Andy Dick, Judd Hirsch and Perez Hilton. Matt Lauer and Al Roker of "Today" and Robert Klein make cameo appearances.

This time the mayhem moves from Los Angeles to the East Coast, where a freak weather system unleashes sharks on the populace and famous sites like Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.

"It’s a whole different story, not just sharks ripping through flesh," co-star Kari Wuhrer said Tuesday at NBC’s summer TV presentation. "New York is a character in the movie, the weather is a character in the movie."

Friedlander was a fan of the original movie and approached the network directly to land a role in the sequel.

"This to me is the most important film ever made about climate change," he said jokingly, noting that it features "some of the top shark actors in the world."

The original film was a trending topic on Twitter, generating nearly 5,000 tweets per minute at its peak.

"It’s unpretentious, it’s fun and you can turn it on at any point and instantly be entertained," Friedlander said. "It’s very communal even though people aren’t watching at a theater."

The film was shot over the same 18-day schedule as the original, with a slightly larger budget. It features more than 500 visual effects shots.

"We’re trying to perfect the tornado on this one even more because we’re trying to make it a character," director Anthony Ferrante said.