A Canceled Disney+ Show Was Just Saved

AMC just picked up a series that Disney+ canceled without even airing – Nautilus, an adventure loosely based on the iconic novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. The series was announced way back in August of 2021 and was filmed throughout 2022, but Disney+ canceled the show before it ever aired during a cost-cutting phase. Now, AMC has rescued the already-finished season and plans to air it in 2024.

According to the official synopsis, Nautilus “tells the origin story of the iconic Captain Nemo, an Indian prince robbed of his birthright and family” and how he became “a prisoner of the East India Mercantile Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces that have taken everything from him.” It’s based on Verne’s novel, which was originally serialized in 1869 then published in its completed form in 1870. However, the show is not an adaptation of the novel, as it focuses on Nemo’s origin whereas Verne’s novel introduces Nemo as an established sea captain.

Captain Nemo will be played by Shazad Latif – best known for Star Trek: Discovery – and the main cast will feature Georgia Flood, Thierry Fremont and Céline Menville. The season will also feature guest appearances by Richard E. Grant, Anna Torv and Noah Taylor. The series was created by writer James Dormer executive produced by Dormer, Xavier Marchand, Anand Tucker, Johanna Devereaux and Chris Loveall.

“I am hugely excited that the efforts of everyone involved in the making of the show will be seen on such a prestigious network,” Dormer said in an AMC press release on Monday. Network executive Ben Davis added: “Nautilus is a big, sweeping drama that is sure to appeal to fans of our Anne Rice Immortal Universe and other buzzy and fan-forward series like Orphan Black: Echoes. We are looking forward to bringing it to AMC+ and AMC as a special television event next year.”

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was lauded as an early pioneer in the science fiction genre, and much of the technology described in the book has become a reality. The book is narrated by a French scientist named Professor Pierre Aronnax, hired by the U.S. government as part of a team hunting a suspected narwhal in the open ocean. Aronnax and his assistant Conseil are paired with the harpooner Ned Land, and they first hunt down the “sea monster” on a U.S. Navy frigate. However, they are defeated in their confrontation with the monster and soon realize it is a futuristic submarine, not a living animal.

Aronnax, Conseil and Land are captured by Captain Nemo and most of the book describes their adventures alongside his crew. It turns out his undersea ship, the Nautilus was built to escape the reach of governments and society in general. Captain Nemo is a charismatic leader and a genuinely curious scientist, but is ultimately motivated by a deep hatred for the imperialist forces that invaded his homeland and killed his family. He is also ruthless, refusing to let anyone onboard return to the surface as they might reveal his secrets.

It sounds like the TV series will offer some fresh perspectives on this classic and it may find a more balanced audience on AMC. It will also be available to stream simultaneously on AMC+. There’s no word on when the show will premiere yet, but it will be sometime in 2024.