The Octonauts is a British children’s television series, produced by Silvergate Media for the BBC channel Cbeebies. The series is animated in Ireland by Brown Bag Films but uses British voice actors. The TV series is based on American-Canadian children’s books written by Vicki Wong and Michael C. Murphy of Meomi Design Inc.

The Octonauts follows an underwater exploring crew made up of stylized anthropomorphic animals, a team of eight adventurers who live in an undersea base, the Octopod, from where they go on undersea adventures with the help of a fleet of aquatic vehicles.

The subject matter is reminiscent of Star Trek and Thunderbirds blended with Jacques Cousteau. Although it is science fiction as regards its technology, the exotic creatures and locations that the crew encounter are real marine animals in their natural habitats.