Former Disney+ Original “Nautilus” Pulls In 2.6 Million Viewers On Linear TV
Back in 2022, Disney announced it was filming a new original series in Australia called “Nautilus”, which is inspired by Jules Verne’s beloved “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”.
The show follows Nemo’s mission to enact revenge on the East India Mercantile Company, which took everything from him. He audaciously steals a prototype submarine from the penal colony in which he is imprisoned, escaping into the ocean with a motley crew of fellow prisoners. Nemo plans to reach the fabled Viking treasure buried at the Pillars of Halvar. But first, he must win the trust of his crew and keep out of the clutches of the ruthless East India Mercantile Company, who will do whatever it takes to stop him.
With Disney looking to offset its losses in the streaming division, in 2023, it was revealed that “Nautilus” was no longer going to be released as a Disney+ Original; instead, it had been sold to AMC. Internationally, Amazon picked up the rights to “Nautilus”.
But it looks like Disney might have made a mistake, as the show debuted on AMC and AMX+ last month, and according to AMC, the first two episodes pulled in 2.6M viewers on the linear channel, making the network’s biggest premiere night audience since “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live”. The show is already pacing as a top new series on AMC+ in viewership and acquisition. “Nautilus” is already a top 10 cable drama for the current broadcast season and is generating significant social buzz and fan activity.
The series stars Shazad Latif (Spooks) as Captain Nemo, along with Georgia Flood (Apples Never Fall) as Humility Lucas, Céline Menville (Emily in Paris) as Loti and Thierry Fremont (Liaison) as Benoit, with guest appearances from Oscar-nominee Richard E. Grant, Anna Torv and Noah Taylor.
“Nautilus” is developed and produced by Moonriver TV’s Xavier Marchand and Seven Stories’ Anand Tucker, is written and executive produced by James Dormer, and is executive produced by Johanna Devereaux, Chris Loveall, Colleen Woodcock and Daisy Gilbert. Cameron Welsh serves as producer, and Michael Matthews is the lead director.
Disney Entertainment distributes the show and acknowledges the support from the Australian Government’s Location Incentive and from the Queensland Government as part of Screen Queensland’s production attraction strategy.
Roger’s Take: This is a great win for AMC, which saw something in this new series, but it also highlights that Disney selling this show off to different platforms was a much better option than simply writing the show off as a tax loss and denying audiences a chance to see the show. It’s just a shame Disney didn’t keep this as their own show, as Disney+ could really do with some great original programming, as the release schedule is looking a little dry ahead of an eventual merger with Hulu.
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