Nautilus (TV series)

Lore & Background

The series is set in 1857, where the British East India Mercantile Company, wielding private armies and a navy, forces slave labor to build a massive submersible, the Nautilus, in Kalpani, India. Originally designed for undersea exploration, the Company intends to arm it as a warship. One of the prisoners, Nemo, who designed the Nautilus's engines, orchestrates a prisoner uprising to seize the vessel and escape. After the Nautilus departs early for Bombay, Nemo and his followers successfully take control and flee, pursued by the Company and its vengeful Director Crawley, who seek the Nautilus and Nemo's death. Nemo and his crew then sail beneath the seas on a mission of retribution to destroy the Company.

Reader's Guide

Nautilus gained attention for its troubled distribution history: after filming completed, Disney+ announced in August 2023 it would not release the series. Amazon Prime Video acquired it for the UK and Ireland in August 2024, releasing all episodes on 25 October 2024. In the US and Canada, AMC acquired the series in October 2023 and premiered it on 29 June 2025. The series debuted at the top of Amazon Prime's UK chart in its first week, and in the US it became AMC's most-watched premiere since The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, with 2.6 million viewers. Critical reception was generally favorable, with a 79% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 65 out of 100. The series also aired on SVT Play in Sweden on 12 June 2024 and on France 2 on 12 August 2024.

Did You Know?

• The series was originally ordered by Disney+ but was not released by them after filming completed.
• Amazon Prime Video acquired the series for the UK and Ireland in August 2024, releasing it on 25 October 2024.
• In the United States, the series premiered on AMC on 29 June 2025.
• Richard E. Grant guest-starred as a character credited as 'Sir' or 'Lord'.