{ "id": "epnkaw41t8", "slug": "h2o-mermaid-adventures", "title": "H₂O: Mermaid Adventures", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.animated-series", "label": "Animated television series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.animated-series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.animated-series.children-s-animated-adventure-and-fantas", "label": "Children's animated adventure and fantasy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.animated-series.children-s-animated-adventure-and-fantas" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.animated-series.children-s-animated-adventure-and-fantas.fantasy-and-magical-series", "label": "Fantasy and magical series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.animated-series.children-s-animated-adventure-and-fantas.fantasy-and-magical-series" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" } ] } ], "excerpt": "H2O: Mermaid Adventures is a 2014 French-produced animated series, a Netflix Original with ZDF and France Télévisions, adapting H2O: Just Add Water; 26 episodes, premiered on Netflix May 22, 2015, canceled after two seasons.", "snippet": "H2O: Mermaid Adventures is a 2014 French-produced animated series, a Netflix Original with ZDF and France Télévisions, adapting H2O: Just Add Water; 26 episodes, premiered on Netflix May 22, 2015, canceled after two seasons.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.animated-series.children-s-animated-adventure-and-fantas.fantasy-and-magical-series", "markdown": "# H₂O: Mermaid Adventures\n\n**H₂O: Mermaid Adventures** is a French-produced animated television series, first released on Netflix on May 22, 2015, that reimagines the live-action series *H₂O: Just Add Water* as a cartoon for younger viewers. It follows three teenage girls, Emma, Cleo, and Rikki, who are transformed into mermaids and gain magical powers over water after a trip to Mako Island.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/h2o-mermaid-adventures/allseasons/official) • [2](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | 26 episodes; ZDF Studios lists 26×26', Mediatoon lists 26×24'[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/junior/animation/h2o-mermaid-adventures) • [2](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/) |\n| Production | Les Cartooneurs Associés and Fantasia Animation, France; production year 2014[2](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/) |\n| Co-production | Netflix Original Series coproduced with ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, and France Télévisions[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/junior/animation/h2o-mermaid-adventures) |\n| Director and writers | Tian Xiao Zhang; writers Eric-Paul Marais, Delphine Dubos, and Franck Soullard[2](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/) |\n| Premiere | Netflix, May 22, 2015; German TV premiere on KiKA August 28, 2015[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/h2o-mermaid-adventures/allseasons/official) • [4](https://www.fernsehserien.de/h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau) |\n| Basis | Adapted from *H₂O: Just Add Water* by Jonathan M. Shiff[2](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/) |\n| Run | Canceled after two seasons of 13 episodes; final episode aired October 13, 2015[5](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/80025553) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and setting\n\nWhile exploring the mysterious Island of Mako, three ordinary teenage girls fall under a spell: whenever water splashes any one of them, she is transformed into a mermaid.[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/junior/animation/h2o-mermaid-adventures) Each girl also gains a magical power, and the stories move between life on land in Dolphin City and a magical undersea world.[2](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/) • [3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/junior/animation/h2o-mermaid-adventures)\n\nA key difference from the live-action original is that the animated girls can speak with the ocean's inhabitants underwater, which opens the series to a community of sea-creature characters.[6](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/7840/3185073) Among their helpers are their friend Lewis and Bernie, a hermit crab.[2](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/) Common Sense Media's review notes additional new characters such as Zita the eel and Sue the manta ray, and describes the show's themes as friendship, self-confidence, and self-image.[7](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/h2o-mermaid-adventures)\n\n### Episodes\n\nSeason 1 episodes include \"The Secret of Mako Island,\" the premiere in which the girls are stranded on Mako Island and a pool of water transforms them into mermaids; \"Caught in the Net,\" in which Emma enters a sand-castle competition and Cleo rescues an injured sea turtle; \"The White Mermaid,\" in which the girls find an old mermaid statue tied to a sunken wreck; \"A Stormy Party\"; and \"Mako Island Hotel,\" in which they try to halt construction of a luxury resort on the island.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/h2o-mermaid-adventures/allseasons/official) Later first-season episodes deal with discarded plastic bags harming sea turtles, an atmospheric disturbance that earns Dolphin City the name \"the new Bermuda Triangle,\" and a shark with a toothache that threatens the city's tourism season.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/h2o-mermaid-adventures/allseasons/official)\n\n## Production\n\nThe series was produced in France by Les Cartooneurs Associés and Fantasia Animation, with ZDF Enterprises among the production companies credited, and was directed by Tian Xiao Zhang.[2](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/) It is a Netflix Original coproduced with ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, and [France Télévisions](https://www.edgepedia.org/france-televisions).[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/junior/animation/h2o-mermaid-adventures) German promotional material describes the visual approach as a combination of traditional 2D animation with a 3D underwater world.[8](https://panininewsroom.de/panini-schwimmt-auf-der-erfolgswelle-mit-h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau-2/)\n\nThe English-language voice cast includes Sonja Ball as Cleo Sertori, Holly Gauthier-Frankel as Rikki Chadwick, Thor Bishopric and Daniel Brochu as Lewis, and Eleanor Noble as Emma Gilbert.[9](https://www.fernsehserien.de/h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau/cast-crew) The series carries a TV-Y7 rating in the United States, indicating content suitable for ages 7 and up.[5](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/80025553)\n\n## Broadcast and availability\n\nAll 13 episodes of season 1 were released on Netflix on May 22, 2015.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/h2o-mermaid-adventures/allseasons/official) In Germany, fernsehserien.de records a television premiere on KiKA on August 28, 2015, while a ZDF press release announced the series start on ZDF's children's programming for November 28, 2015; both dates appear in the sources.[4](https://www.fernsehserien.de/h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau) • [6](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/7840/3185073) The ZDF Studios catalog lists the series as seen on ZDF/KiKA, France TV, Netflix, Amazon, Discovery Kids, Globosat, Telefonica, Rai, and SIC, with dubbed versions in 16 languages including German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Arabic, Korean, and Japanese.[10](https://www.zdf-studios.com/sites/default/files/media/download/file/selection-junior_0.pdf)\n\nAs of late September 2026, [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) reported the series streaming on Netflix, Netflix Kids, and Netflix Standard with Ads in the UK.[11](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau)\n\n## Relation to the H₂O franchise and reception\n\nThe series is an animated spinoff of *H₂O: Just Add Water*, the Australian live-action series created by Jonathan M. Shiff that ran from 2006 to 2010.[2](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/) • [12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491603/movieconnections/) It parallels the original's setup, three friends transformed on a trip to a mysterious island, while retelling it for a younger audience.[7](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/h2o-mermaid-adventures) It sits alongside *Mako: Island of Secrets* (also known as *Mako Mermaids*) as a further extension of the franchise.[13](https://plus.rtl.de/h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau-p_9091)\n\nThe show was canceled after two seasons and 26 episodes, with the final episode airing on October 13, 2015.[5](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/80025553) Aggregated ratings listed there include 5.3/10 on IMDb and 70% on The Movie Database.[5](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/80025553)\n\n## References\n\n1. [H2O: Mermaid Adventures – Aired Order, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/h2o-mermaid-adventures/allseasons/official)\n2. [H2O – Mermaid Adventures, Mediatoon Distribution](https://mediatoon-distribution.com/en/programme/h2o-mermaid-adventures/)\n3. [H2O - Mermaid Adventures, ZDF Studios program catalog](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/junior/animation/h2o-mermaid-adventures)\n4. [H2O – Abenteuer Meerjungfrau, fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau)\n5. [Is 'H2O: Mermaid Adventures' on Netflix?, New On Netflix USA](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/80025553)\n6. [\"H2O - Abenteuer Meerjungfrau\" – Meerjungfrauen als neue Animationsserie zurück im ZDF, Presseportal/ZDF](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/7840/3185073)\n7. [H2O: Mermaid Adventures – Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/h2o-mermaid-adventures)\n8. [Panini schwimmt auf der Erfolgswelle mit „H2O – Abenteuer Meerjungfrau\", Panini Newsroom](https://panininewsroom.de/panini-schwimmt-auf-der-erfolgswelle-mit-h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau-2/)\n9. [H2O – Abenteuer Meerjungfrau Cast & Crew, fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau/cast-crew)\n10. [ZDF Studios Selection Junior Spring/Summer 2022 (PDF)](https://www.zdf-studios.com/sites/default/files/media/download/file/selection-junior_0.pdf)\n11. [H2O: Mermaid Adventures – streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau)\n12. [H2O: Just Add Water – Connections, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491603/movieconnections/)\n13. [H2O - Abenteuer Meerjungfrau, RTL+](https://plus.rtl.de/h2o-abenteuer-meerjungfrau-p_9091)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Animated television series (individual series) › Children's animated adventure and fantasy series › Fantasy and magical series*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/h2o-mermaid-adventures", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/h2o-mermaid-adventures.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"H₂O: Mermaid Adventures\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/h2o-mermaid-adventures. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[H₂O: Mermaid Adventures](https://www.edgepedia.org/h2o-mermaid-adventures)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/h2o-mermaid-adventures](https://www.edgepedia.org/h2o-mermaid-adventures). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"H₂O: Mermaid Adventures\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/h2o-mermaid-adventures. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "H2O: Mermaid Adventures is a 2014 French-produced animated series, a Netflix Original with ZDF and France Télévisions, adapting H2O: Just Add Water; 26 episodes, premiered on Netflix May 22, 2015, canceled after two seasons." }