Daisy Ridley Leads Paramount+ Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

By Elena Vasquez

Variety reports that Paramount+ has ordered eight episodes of “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” with Daisy Ridley set to star and executive produce the series. Variety says the project has spent months in development and predates recent changes at Paramount+ parent Skydance.

What does Lee Crane face?

Variety’s detailed series summary says Lee Crane is “pulled into a classified government program after a catastrophic Arctic expedition claims the life of her twin sister.”

The story moves from that Arctic disaster into a classified government operation. Its central object is the USS Seaview, a retro-futuristic submarine that ice has entombed. The vessel carries symbols from a history that should not exist. Variety adds that the submarine “powers up only when Lee steps aboard.”

Those details establish three linked gates around Lee: the death of her sister, her recruitment into the program and the submarine’s dependence on her presence. The summary also places her in command of a pressure-cooker crew and an uneasy alliance with government power brokers.

Her stated work has two directions. She leads Seaview on undersea missions to contain mysterious forces leaking into our world. She must also uncover a hidden truth about the oceans, an erased chapter of human history and the once-thought mythical city of Atlantis.

Takeaway: The eight-part premise joins submarine command with Arctic secrecy, government power and an Atlantis mystery.

Who is making the series?

Variety identifies the production team:

• Daisy Ridley — stars as Lee Crane and executive produces the eight-episode series.
• Akiva Goldsman — writes and executive produces. Variety identifies him as an Oscar winner and cites “A Beautiful Mind.”
• Matt Shakman — directs and executive produces. The announcement cites “WandaVision.”
• Jon Jashni — executive produces.
• Derek Thielges — co-produces.
• Legendary Television and the Irwin Allen estate — produce the project.

The overlapping roles are specific. Ridley performs and produces. Goldsman writes and produces. Shakman directs and produces. Jashni and Thielges supply the remaining producing credits. The credits unite Legendary Television, the Irwin Allen estate, three dual-role creative contributors and two additional producers around a new eight-episode television commission from Paramount+.

Takeaway: Five named individuals and two production entities now stand behind the eight-episode order.

How does the project connect to its history?

Variety traces the property’s lineage through a 1961 feature and the 1964-1968 television series it launched, with Irwin Allen credited behind the original feature film.

• 1961: Irwin Allen’s original feature film featured Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Even, Peter Lorre and Robert Sterling.
• 1964-1968: The resulting television series starred Richard Basehart and David Hedison.

The new commission retains the title and centers its lead on Ridley as Lee Crane. Its eight episodes concern the USS Seaview, hidden oceanic history and Atlantis. The new premise also combines the original property’s undersea setting with a classified program and government power brokers.

Takeaway: The new series extends a screen property that already spans a feature film and a 1964-68 television run.

What does Ridley bring to the cast?

Ridley’s casting joins a slate of three “Star Wars” films, five other screen credits and two forthcoming projects, ten named titles apart from this new series.

• “Star Wars” roles: “The Force Awakens,” “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker.”
• Other credits: “Young Woman and the Sea,” “Magpie,” “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” “Cleaner” and “We Bury the Dead.”
• Next projects: “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” and “The Last Resort.”

CAA, Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern, and Narrative represent Ridley. Three of her ten named titles belong to “Star Wars.” Five others sit outside that franchise, while Variety lists two further projects under “Next up.”

Takeaway: Paramount+ now has an eight-episode Ridley-led submarine series in development, while her two other next projects await release.