Nautilus is the kind of show that fascinates me. Not because of anything in the actual show because I didn’t watch it. Instead, I’m fascinated by the supposed response to the show (and its production history, which we’ll touch on) because it seems like it’s a secret success. The premiere episode was the biggest audience AMC got for a premiere since last year’s The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. And according to streaming charts, the show has done surprisingly well on AMC+ this past month.
So, why does it feel like Nautilus isn’t a show that actually exists? Why does this hefty production that’s clearly resonating with viewers feel as if it’s nothing at all in the pop culture landscape?
Nautilus Gets Dunked By Disney
Nautilus was originally supposed to show up on Disney+. The House of Mouse produced the show but pulled out of directly distributing it on their platform after production had wrapped. Instead, they sold it to different entities depending on the location of distribution. For example, the United Kingdom got the show on Prime Video eight months before it premiered in the United States on AMC and their streaming service, AMC+.
What was intended to be a potential flagship series for Disney+ ended up getting sold off to the highest bidder. But, that doesn’t seem to have slowed interest in the show for potential audiences. The show has done well on streaming and even topped AMC+ barely a week ago.
So, we return to my initial question: why does it feel like no one actually did watch Nautilus?
The Streaming Barrier
With streaming services becoming omnipresent in our consumer culture, the barrier for shows to become true breakouts is much thicker than in the past. The amount of television shows being produced and pushed by their respective studios is utterly maddening. There’s so much noise when you step back and look at the big picture. Not to mention that brand loyalty becomes an issue. If you get Netflix or HBO Max or Paramount+ (blech) and enjoy it, there isn’t a huge incentive to pay for another streaming service.
So, why would you go out of your way to watch a show like Nautlius? Even if it gains decent word-of-mouth praise, are you really going to sign up for AMC+ just to watch that one show? I know there is a churn culture with streaming where folks sign up for a service and immediately cancel it in order to get a single month of access. Maybe folks are doing that? I would love to hear such testimonials.
Even so, a show like Nautilus doing well on streaming but showing no real ripple effect in the larger pop culture discussion tells me that the streaming barrier continues to be a harder hurdle to clear for interesting shows. If a show like Nautilus has an audience, it doesn’t translate to the “water cooler” culture of entertainment discussion. It might be liked but it certainly doesn’t feel like anyone is talking about it. Hopefully, even this piece will get someone to check the show out. In an age of endless content, curation is more important than ever. Let’s hope shows like Nautilus have loving curators to make sure they don’t fully disappear.
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