''Nautilus'' is a British-Australian ten-part television

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

created by James Dormer. It is a reimagining of the 1870 novel ''

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may inclu ...

'' by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, presenting an origin story for

Captain Nemo Captain Nemo (; also known as Prince Dakkar) is a character created by the French novelist Jules Verne (1828–1905). Nemo appears in two of Verne's science-fiction books, ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (1870) and '' The Mysterious Is ...

, an Indian prince-turned-crusading scientist. In August 2023, after filming was complete, it was announced

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, the original distributor, would not release the series. In August 2024,

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

acquired the series for distribution in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where the series was released on 25 October 2024.

Premise

The year is 1857, and the British East India Mercantile Company currently wields more power than any nation on Earth, thanks to its private armies and navy, while stealing the riches of the nations they've subdued. In Kalpani, India, a massive submersible ship, the ''Nautilus'', is being secretly built by the Company using slave labour from the Colonial prison. Although originally designed as a vessel of undersea exploration, the Company intends to arm the ''Nautilus'' and use it as a new type of warship. One of the prisoners forced to build the ''Nautilus'' is Nemo, who also designed the ''Nautiluss engines, but who has also been planning a prisoner uprising in order to seize the ''Nautilus'' and use it to escape. However, when plans are announced to have the ''Nautilus'' depart for

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

days earlier than expected, Nemo and his followers still manage to successfully take over the ''Nautilus'' and escape out to sea. Now hunted by the East India Mercantile Company and its vengeful Director Crawley, both of whom want the ''Nautilus'' back and Nemo dead, Nemo and his motley crew sail beneath the seas on a mission of retribution and vengeance to utterly destroy the power of the Company...and the Company itself.

Cast

Main / regular

Shazad Latif Shazad Latif (born Iqbal Amin; 8 July 1988) is a British actor, who starred as Tariq Masood in the BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, E ...

* Georgia Flood as Humility Lucas *

Thierry Frémont Thierry Frémont (born 24 July 1962) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 1984. He starred in the 1991 film '' Fortune Express'', which was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival. ...

as Gustave Benoit *

Pacharo Mzembe Pacharo Mzembe is an Australian actor. He has performed on stage, in several television series and in feature films. Early life Mzembe's parents originate from Malawi, but he was born in Zimbabwe. He migrated to Australia at the age of six to ...

as Boniface * Arlo Green as Turan * Tyrone Ngatai as Kai * Ling Cooper Tang as Suyin * Andrew Shaw as Jiacomo * Ashan Kumar as Ranbir * Chum Ehelepola as Jagadish * Céline Menville as Loti *

Cameron Cuffe Cameron Cuffe (born 5 April 1993) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Gino in the film '' Florence Foster Jenkins'' (2016), William Shannon in the ITV series '' The Halcyon'' (2017), and Seg-El in the Syfy series ''Krypton'' (201 ...

as Lord Pitt * Kayden Price as Blaster *

Damien Garvey Damien Garvey is an Australian actor and former musician known for his film and television roles. Early life and education Damien Garvey graduated from Padua College, a Catholic boys' school in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1982. Career Garvey ...

as Director Crawley * Benedict Hardie as Cuff *

Jacob Collins-Levy Jacob Collins-Levy (born 18 March 1992) is an English-Australian actor. On television, he is known for his role in the Starz series ''The White Princess'' (2017), and the Netflix series ''Young Wallander'' (2020) and '' The Witcher: Blood Origi ...

as Captain Youngblood *

Luke Arnold Luke Arnold (born 1984) is an Australian actor and author, who is known for portraying Long John Silver, John Silver in the Starz (TV channel), Starz drama series ''Black Sails (TV series), Black Sails'' (2014–2017) and INXS singer Michael Hu ...

as Captain Billy Millais * Darren Gilshenan as Punch

Guests

Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is an Eswatini-born English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack H ...

as the leader of Karajaan *

Anna Torv Anna Torv (born 7 June 1979) is an Australian actress. Her performance as Olivia Dunham in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox science fiction series ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'' (2008–2013) earned her four consecutive Saturn Award for Best A ...

as Revna *

Leeanna Walsman Leeanna Walsman is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Zam Wesell in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' (2002), and for her roles in the 2000 film '' Looking for Alibrandi'' and the television series '' We ...

as Hilda *

Noah Taylor Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is a British born Australian actor. The accolades he has received include nominations for three Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Award, and four AACTA Awards. He is best known for his ...

as Captain Mogg * Muki Zubis as Casamir * Adolphus Waylee as Absalom Boston

Episodes

Production

Development

In August 2021, it was announced that

had ordered ''Nautilus'', a ten-part television series about the origin of

and his submarine, the ''

Nautilus A nautilus (; ) is any of the various species within the cephalopod family Nautilidae. This is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and the suborder Nautilina. It comprises nine living species in two genera, the type genus, ty ...

.'' James Dormer writes the series, and also serves as executive producer with Xavier Marchand,

Anand Tucker Anand Tucker (born 24 June 1963) is a film director and producer based in London. He began his career directing factual television programming and adverts. He co-owns the production company Seven Stories. Personal life Tucker was born in Thail ...

and Johanna Devereaux. Moonriver TV and

Seven Stories Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books is a museum and visitor centre dedicated to children's literature and based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, close to the city's regenerated Quayside. The renovated Victorian ...

produce the series. Michael Matthews joined as director in November 2021.

Cameron Welsh Cameron Welsh is an Australian actor, writer, producer and director, best known for his role as Mitch McColl on Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'' from 1999 until 2001; he then went on to become the series producer from 2007 until 2012. Ca ...

joined as series producer and Chris Loveall joined as executive producer in February 2022; Colleen Woodcock and Daisy Gilbert were added as executive producers one year later.

Casting

was cast as

in November 2021. In February 2022, Georgia Flood,

, Arlo Green, Tyrone Ngatai, Ling Cooper Tang, Andrew Shaw, Ashan Kumar, Chum Ehelepola, Céline Menville, Kayden Price, and

were cast. In May 2022,

joined the cast as a guest star. Muki Zubis, Benedict Hardie,

, Adolphus Waylee,

and

also joined the cast.

Filming

Filming began in mid-February 2022 at

Village Roadshow Studios Village Roadshow Studios are a set of film studios located in Oxenford, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The studios are owned by Village Roadshow and consist of nine sound stages as well as a range of other production facilities. The studio ...

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

. The series was expected to wrap in January 2023. The series filmed at The Old Museum in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in May 2022, and at the

Queensland Parliament House Parliament House in Brisbane is the meeting place of the Parliament of Queensland, housing its only chamber, the Legislative Assembly. It is located on the corner of George Street and Alice Street at Gardens Point in the CBD, and is next ...

in September. Filming was previously set to begin in December 2021. Ben C. Lucas directed episodes 5, 6, and 7, while Isabelle Sieb directed 3 episodes of the series.

Release

''Nautilus'' is distributed worldwide by

Disney Entertainment Disney Entertainment is one of the three major divisions of the Walt Disney Company created on February 8, 2023. It consists of the company's entertainment media and content businesses, including its motion picture film studios, television divi ...

. The series was originally slated to be released on

in the United Kingdom before it was announced that it would not be moving forward with the series. It first aired on

SVT Play SVT Play is the brand used for the video on demand service offered by Sveriges Television, more specifically to the streaming services offered on the SVT website, svt.se, and its counterpart for mobile phones. The brand was introduced in Decemb ...

in Sweden on 12 June 2024. In October 2023,

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

announced it had acquired the series for broadcast in the United States and Canada, where it premiered on 29 June 2025. In August 2024,

acquired the series for release in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it premiered on 25 October 2024. All episodes were released simultaneously and the director of the last three episodes posted that it had topped Amazon Prime's chart in that region. In other European countries, the full series was released on 18 October 2024. (Except in France, where it was released on 12 August 2024, on France 2 channel) In September 2024, Stan announced that it had acquired the series for Australia, where it was released on 25 October 2024.

Reception

The review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reports a 73% approval rating based on 11 reviews.

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable".

References

External links

* {{Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea 2020s British drama television series 2020s British television miniseries 2024 British television series debuts 2024 British television series endings Amazon Prime Video original programming British adventure television series British English-language television shows Television series by All3Media Television series by Disney Television shows based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas Television shows filmed in Australia