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Nautilus (TV series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the television series. For titular submersible, see Nautilus (fictional submarine). For other uses, see Nautilus (disambiguation).
Nautilus
Release poster
Genre
Created byJames Dormer
Based onTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
by Jules Verne
Directed byMichael Matthews
Starring
ComposerNainita Desai[1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Australia
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
  • Xavier Marchand
  • Anand Tucker
  • James Dormer
  • Johanna Devereaux
  • Chris Loveall
  • Michael Matthews
  • Colleen Woodcock
  • Daisy Gilbert
ProducerCameron Welsh
Production locationGold Coast, Queensland
Production companies
Original release
NetworkAmazon Prime Video
Release25 October 2024 (2024-10-25)

Nautilus is a British-Australian ten-part television adventure drama created by James Dormer.[2] It is a reimagining of the 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne, presenting an origin story for Captain Nemo, an Indian prince-turned-crusading scientist.

In August 2023, after filming was complete, it was announced Disney+, the original distributor, would not release the series.[3] In August 2024, Amazon Prime Video acquired the series for distribution in the United Kingdom and Ireland,[4] where the series was released on 25 October 2024.

Premise

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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 Nautilus's 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 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

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Main / regular

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Guests

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Anahata"Michael MatthewsJames DormerJune 12, 2024 (2024-06-12) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
June 29, 2025 (2025-06-29) (United States)
The East India Company secretly builds a powerful submarine (the Nautilus) with the labor of Indian prisoners. Director Crawley arrives and informs the craft's architect, Benoit, that the vessel will be used as a war machine for the company. Nemo, a mysterious prisoner who perfected Benoit's blueprints, takes Crawley hostage. In the fight to escape aboard the submarine, Nemo's best friend Aadesh is fatally shot. Shortly after reaching open water, Nemo uses the Nautilus to ram and sink a ship of the company, but is forced to take in Humility Lucas, her maid Loti, and Blaster, a cabin boy. Nemo then sets Crawley adrift. Crawley swears to hunt Nemo to the ends of the earth. The voyage of the Nautilus continues, but the engine fails, damaged by the attack, causing the craft to rapidly sink, threatening its crew with implosion.
2"Tick, Tick, Boom"Michael MatthewsJames DormerJune 12, 2024 (2024-06-12) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
June 29, 2025 (2025-06-29) (United States)
As the Nautilus rapidly sinks toward imminent destruction, Nemo agrees to Humility's desperate plan of diverting the breathing air into the ballast tanks to enable the ship to resurface. The attempt is successful, but while Benoit attempts to repair the engines, Humility, Loti, and Blaster escape and swim toward shore. An attack by East India Company soldiers forces them to return to the Nautilus. Meanwhile, Crawley engages Captain Youngblood to assume command of the Dreadnought, a prototype battlecruiser. The Nautilus submerges as the Company overtakes it, but the Dreadnought bombards them with underwater explosives. As Nemo and the crew attempt to evade them by diving out of range, an unknown sea-creature is awakened by the explosions and stirs in the shadows.
3"What Lies Beneath"Michael MatthewsMatthew ParkhillJune 19, 2024 (2024-06-19) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
July 6, 2025 (2025-07-06) (United States)
The Nautilus is attacked by a giant squid and rendered helpless in the creature's tentacles until the mother whale Nemo saved from the whalers comes to its rescue. The Dreadnought searches for the Nautilus's position with sonar, but Nemo fires a torpedo to create a distraction, and the submarine escapes while the Company chases it. Nemo docks the Nautilus at Karajan, an island unfriendly to the Company, and is greeted by the Rajah, who recognizes him as Prince Dakkar. The Rajah offers to provide passage to America for Humility and reveals that Nemo's wife and daughter were murdered by the Company, hence his crusade for vengeance. Nemo discovers that Rajah has telegraphed the Dreadnought, and is rescued when Jagadish, one of his crewmen, inspires a native uprising. Humility finally decides to trust Nemo, and our heroes fight their way back to Nautilus, only for Jagadish to be wounded and captured by the Company as the Dreadnought blocks the Nautilus from escaping the shallow harbor.
4"Slippery When Wet"Michael MatthewsSian Ejiwunmi-Le BerreJune 19, 2024 (2024-06-19) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
July 13, 2025 (2025-07-13) (United States)
Nemo risks his life to swim across and sabotage the Dreadnought long enough for the Nautilus to slip past. Kai brings him back aboard, and the crew set sail for a mysterious island to reprovision. Meanwhile, Director Crawley murders Rajah for failing to deliver the Nautilus, and resumes the chase on the open sea. On the island, Nemo, Humility, and Blaster discover a band of shipwrecked company sailors led by Captain Henry Mogg, who have degenerated into a savage lifestyle and formed a liaison with a mysterious water-beast. Our heroes are joined by Casimir, a castaway who disguised herself as a man to survive at sea. Blaster is captured by the Moggs, who attempt to sacrifice him to the beast (revealed to be a gigantic electric eel) in exchange for fresh water. Nemo and Humility distract the Moggs long enough for Casimir to rescue Blaster, then flee as the eel devours Captain Mogg and pursues them on the land. Our heroes return to the Nautilus, but Casimir refuses to enter, and is swallowed by the eel, which drags the submarine into the depths and attacks them with its electricity, rendering them helpless.
5"Hallucinations"Ben C. LucasSonya DesaiJune 26, 2024 (2024-06-26) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
July 20, 2025 (2025-07-20) (United States)
Humility advises a countercharge of 1500 volts to repel the eel, but Nemo and Benoit order her to stay below 1000. Scornful of their distrust, she lies and raises the voltage to 1500, with the result of shorting out the Nautilus. Paralyzed by her miscalculation, she gives into her despair. Meanwhile, a bacteria picked up on the island begins rapidly spreading through the crew, causing vivid hallucinations and unconsciousness. The Nautilus sinks toward an underwater volcano that is part of the Ring_of_Fire. The heat causes the eel to leave them, but a torn off portion its dorsal fin jams the rudder, preventing escape. The last of the crew succumbs to the bacteria, which is nourished by the heat, forcing Humility to overcome her fears and climb outside the submarine in a diving suit to repair the rudder. She succeeds, causing the Nautilus to start up again, but is thrown helpless into the abyss.
6"The Big Blue"Ben C. LucasSian Ejiwunmi-Le BerreJune 26, 2024 (2024-06-26) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
July 27, 2025 (2025-07-27) (United States)
Once clear of the heat of the volcano, the bacteria subsides, and the crew recovers. Before passing out, Humility glimpses a manmade structure underwater. Nemo brings her in, and she is revived. When Benoit hears of what she saw, he realizes that they have found the location of Atlantis, which matches an ancient chart he found in the Karajan library. He begs Nemo for a chance to explore, but Nemo is initially resistant, until Benoit reminds him that the true purpose of the submarine is to experience the marvels of the deep, not to pursue revenge. Our heroes suit up and discover an air pocket which allows them to explore the ruins without helmets. Benoit separates from the group and discovers a mysterious glowing rock. Our heroes are attacked by hostile crinoids. Humility and Cuff fight their way past sharks to return to the Nautilus, and Nemo attempts to rescue Benoit, who passes on the rock before being engulfed by the crinoids. Aboard the Nautilus, a mournful Nemo reflects on Benoit's view of the ocean. Meanwhile, Millais forces Jagadish to reveal the destination of the Nautilus (the sunken treasure-trove of Halvar) before executing Jagadish. The Company realizes that Nemo plans to cut through the Arctic Circle to reach Halvar, and scheme to cut him off.
7"Cold War"Ben C. LucasMatthew ParkhillJuly 3, 2024 (2024-07-03) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
August 1, 2025 (2025-08-01) (United States)
Pursued by the Dreadnought into arctic waters, Nemo plans to lure the Company ironclad into being grounded on the ice, but a broken engine part causes the Nautilus to be caught in the same predicament. Nemo makes a deal with Captain Youngblood: if the Nautilus crew is allowed to use the Dreadnought's forge to repair the broken part, the Nautilus will tow the ironclad off the ice; in addition, Humility and Blaster will be allowed to leave the Nautilus. Humility eventually brings the broken part aboard the Dreadnought, where she meets her intended husband Lord Pitt. As tensions grow between the two crews, a cricket match is proposed. A penalty against Pitt causes a fistfight between the two teams and an end to the match. Millais tells Nemo the real reason why Nemo's father surrendered his lands to the Company, and Pitt spitefully tells Blaster that the latter's father is not nobility and Humility that her mother practically sold her to Pitt in exchange for funds to keep her late husband's business going. Humility and Loti escape from the Dreadnought with the repaired part and rejoin the Nautilus with Blaster. Pitt opens fire on the Nautilus.
8"The Tipping Point"Isabelle SiebJames DormerJuly 3, 2024 (2024-07-03) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
August 8, 2025 (2025-08-08) (United States)
9"Ride of the Valkyrie"Isabelle SiebMatthew ParkhillJuly 10, 2024 (2024-07-10) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
August 15, 2025 (2025-08-15) (United States)
10"Too Big to Fail"Isabelle SiebJames DormerJuly 10, 2024 (2024-07-10) (Sweden)
October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United Kingdom)
August 15, 2025 (2025-08-15) (United States)

Production

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Development

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In August 2021, it was announced that Disney+ had ordered Nautilus, a ten-part television series about the origin of Captain Nemo and his submarine, the Nautilus.[6] James Dormer writes the series, and also serves as executive producer with Xavier Marchand, Anand Tucker and Johanna Devereaux.[7] Moonriver TV and Seven Stories produce the series.[8] Michael Matthews joined as director in November 2021.[5] Cameron Welsh joined as series producer and Chris Loveall joined as executive producer in February 2022;[9] Colleen Woodcock and Daisy Gilbert were added as executive producers one year later.[4]

Casting

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Shazad Latif was cast as Captain Nemo in November 2021.[5] In February 2022, Georgia Flood, Thierry Frémont, Pacharo Mzembe, Arlo Green, Tyrone Ngatai, Ling Cooper Tang, Andrew Shaw, Ashan Kumar, Chum Ehelepola, Céline Menville, Kayden Price, and Damien Garvey were cast.[10][9] In May 2022, Richard E. Grant joined the cast as a guest star. Muki Zubis, Benedict Hardie, Jacob Collins-Levy, Adolphus Waylee, Cameron Cuffe and Luke Arnold also joined the cast.[11]

Filming

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Filming began in mid-February 2022 at Village Roadshow Studios in Gold Coast, Queensland.[10][12] The series was expected to wrap in January 2023.[13] The series filmed at The Old Museum in Brisbane in May 2022,[14] and at the Queensland Parliament House in September.[15][16] Filming was previously set to begin in December 2021.[5] Ben C. Lucas directed episodes 5, 6, and 7,[17] while Isabelle Sieb directed 3 episodes of the series.[18]

Release

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Nautilus is distributed worldwide by Disney Entertainment. The series was originally slated to be released on Disney+ in the United Kingdom before it was announced that it would not be moving forward with the series. It first aired on SVT Play in Sweden on 12 June 2024.[19]

In October 2023, AMC announced it had acquired the series for broadcast in the United States and Canada,[4][20] where it premiered on 29 June 2025.[21]

In August 2024, Amazon Prime Video 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.[22] 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,[23] where it was released on 25 October 2024.[24]

The series was released in the United States June 29, 2025 on AMC+.[25][26]

Reception

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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 73% approval rating based on 11 reviews.[27] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable".[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "AMC's 'Nautilus' to Feature Music by Nainita Desai". Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  2. ^ "Shows A-Z - nautilus on AMC". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 27, 2023). "Disney+ Not Going Forward With 'Nautilus' UK Series As Part Of Cost-Cutting Content Removal". Deadline. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Goldbart, Max (August 14, 2024). "Former Disney+ Series 'Nautilus' Swims To Prime Video UK & Ireland". Deadline Hollywood.
  5. ^ a b c d Kroll, Justin (November 11, 2021). "Shazad Latif Tapped To Play Captain Nemo In Disney+ Series 'Nautilus', Michael Matthews On Board To Direct". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Ritman, Alex (August 23, 2021). "Disney+ Orders 'Nautilus' Series Based on Jules Verne Classic '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  7. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (August 23, 2021). "Disney Plus Commissions Epic U.K. Original 'Nautilus,' Casts Star Shows 'Culprits' and 'Wedding Season'". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  8. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (August 23, 2021). "Disney+ Reveals New UK Series Including Captain Nemo Origin Story 'Nautilus'; Studio Aiming For 50 Euro Productions By 2024 — Edinburgh". Deadline. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Yossman, K.J. (February 17, 2022). "Georgia Flood, Thierry Frémont Join Disney Plus Series 'Nautilus,' Production Underway in Australia". Variety. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Goldbart, Max (February 17, 2022). "Disney+ 'Nautilus' Casting Complete; Brazilian Legends Behind Football Doc; ITV Black Filmmaker Strand; Fremantle Cinecittà SpA Deal; ZEE5 Series 'Bloody Brothers' – Global Briefs". Deadline. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Whittock, Jesse (May 19, 2022). "Richard E. Grant Guests In Disney+'s 'Nautilus'; Vue COO; Loop Talent; Bridgette Bardot Film; Chelsea FC Women's Doc; James Lucas' 'Moss & Freud'; Sky Studios Elstree MD; Viaplay's 'Threesome' — Global Briefs". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  12. ^ Keast, Jackie (August 24, 2021). "Disney+ epic 'Nautilus' sets sail for Queensland". IF Magazine. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  13. ^ Goldstein, Gregg (September 10, 2022). "Shazad Latif on Lily James, Lead Role in Toronto Fest Romantic Comedy 'What's Love Got to Do With It'". Variety. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  14. ^ Price, Amy (May 6, 2022). "Disney blockbuster Nautilus spotted filming at Brisbane's The Old Museum". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  15. ^ Price, Amy (September 6, 2022). "Queensland Parliament House transformed into period film set for Disney+ series Nautilus". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  16. ^ "Queensland Parliament House transformed into period film set for Disney+ series Nautilus". The Cairns Post. September 6, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  17. ^ "Ben C. Lucas" (PDF). Casarotto Ramsay & Associates. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  18. ^ "Isabelle Sieb". Curtis Brown. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  19. ^ Sveriges Television AB, Stockholm Sweden. "Nautilus – kapten Nemos äventyr" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  20. ^ "AMC NETWORKS LICENSES EPIC DRAMA NAUTILUS, A LIVE-ACTION ORIGINAL SERIES, FROM DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT". AMC Networks. October 30, 2023. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  21. ^ Pedersen, Erik (April 11, 2025). "Nautilus: Premiere Date, First-Look Photos & New Teaser For AMC's Captain Nemo Adventure Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  22. ^ Sieb, Isabelle. "Amazon Top 10". Instagram. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  23. ^ Manning, James. "Stan acquires Nautilus, Disney TV series made in Queensland". www.mediaweek.com.au. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  24. ^ Knox, David (2024-10-01). "Airdate: Nautilus | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  25. ^ Bryant, Jacob (2025-06-29). "'Nautilus' Release Schedule: When to Watch New Episodes of AMC's Submarine Adventure Series". TheWrap. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  26. ^ "Nautilus Will Premiere with 2 Episodes June 29 on AMC and AMC+ | AMC Talk | AMC". www.amc.com. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  27. ^ "Nautilus: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  28. ^ "Nautilus: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
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