The series follows the adventures of the high-tech submarine seaQuest DSV (Deep Submergence Vehicle) operated by the United Earth Oceans Organization (UEO), a global coalition of up-world countries and undersea confederations, similar to the United Nations, which was created following a major showdown of nations that occurred circa 2017. The seaQuest was designed by Nathan Bridger and built by NORPAC (a military organization mentioned in the pilot) and given to the UEO after its creation. The storyline begins in the year 2018, after mankind has exhausted almost all natural resources, except for the ones on the ocean floor. Many new colonies have been established there and it's the job of the seaQuest and its crew to protect them from hostile nonaligned nations and to aid in mediating disputes as well as engage in undersea research, much of which was still in the preliminary stages when the show began production in 1993. Bridger, though originally reluctant, is convinced to return to the navy and assume command of the seaQuest after its original captain was relieved of duty for disobeying orders.

Part of the original focus of seaQuest DSV also centered around the interpersonal relationships of the crew, such as Captain Bridger's, Lucas Wolenczak's, and Dr. Westphalen's loss of immediate family and their shared interest in science, as well as each other, and the "love-hate relationship" between Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg and Lieutenant Commander Katherine Hitchcock, recently divorced, now forced to serve together on the same ship.

In the first-season finale, Bridger sacrificed the seaQuest to prevent an ecological disaster, and for a short time it was not known if the show would be renewed for another season. When it was decided the show would return, NBC and Universal used this opportunity to tinker with the show's format. Both Royce D. Applegate (Chief Manilow Crocker) and John D'Aquino (Krieg) were released by NBC as the network wanted a younger cast for the second year (D'Aquino subsequently returned for a guest appearance in the third season). Stacy Haiduk (Hitchcock), who was not happy with her character's development, informed producers she did not wish to return if the show went on to a second season. Stephanie Beacham, who as Dr. Kristin Westphalen was one of the first season's strongest characters, had been asked back for the second year; however, she quit when it was decided the show would move production from Los Angeles to Florida. (The move also changed the show's home base from Pearl Harbor to New Cape Quest; a fictional city in Florida). Beacham also blamed continued fighting between the network and the show's producers as a major reason why she did not return. The series had also suffered in the ratings, as it was pitted against Murder, She Wrote.

Joining the series were Edward Kerr, who replaced Applegate's character as Lieutenant James Brody; Kathy Evison, who replaced Haiduk's character as Lieutenant Lonnie Henderson; Rosalind Allen, who replaced Beacham's character as Dr. Wendy Smith; and Michael and Peter DeLuise who both replaced D'Aquino's character in varying degrees as Seaman Anthony Piccolo and Dagwood, respectively. A new seaQuest was constructed; the sets redesigned, and a shortened version of the Emmy winning main title theme was instituted as the series returned to the airwaves on September 18, 1994 with a two-hour television movie entitled "Daggers."

NBC also decided they wanted more traditionally science-fiction oriented episodes this season, a direction that was explored toward the end of the first season when seaQuest discovered a million-year-old alien ship entombed in the ocean floor. Whereas the first season dealt with issues like ecology, exploration of the sea, environmental radicals, advances in technology, and political intrigue, the second season featured episodes involving genetic engineering, aliens, parapsychology, time-travel, and various "monsters of the week" (including killer plants, a dragon worm, and a prehistoric crocodile). Roy Scheider was vocal in his anger of the show's new direction. In an interview filmed during the second season, Scheider averred: "It's childish trash...I am very bitter about it. I feel betrayed...It's [seaQuest] not even good fantasy. I mean Star Trek does this stuff much better than we can do it. To me the show is now 21 Jump Street meets Star Dreck." "We were moving to Florida," Scheider said. "We were going to present human beings who had a life on land as well as on the boat... we've had one script that has done that (entitled "Vapors)," Scheider said. "The other shows are Saturday afternoon 4 o'clock junk for children. Just junk - old, tired, time-warp robot crap (making reference to the much maligned episode "Playtime")." Executive Producer Patrick Hasburgh in reply had strong words for Scheider as well: "I'm sorry he is such a sad and angry man. seaQuest is going to be a terrific show, and he is lucky to be part of it."

By the end of season two, seaQuest DSV was again suffering, partly attributed to a perceived decrease in the quality of the writing as well as preemptions by NBC due to sports coverage. The threat of cancellation loomed large but NBC gave it one more chance after plans for a new series titled Rolling Thunder to replace seaQuest DSV were canceled. Producer Lee Goldberg claimed the new series was canceled because the premise was "awful".

Blaming continued disputes with producers and abandonment of the show's original premise, Roy Scheider requested to be released from his contract with NBC. However, the network only partially agreed and demanded that Bridger would make several appearances throughout the third season. Edward Kerr had been very frustrated with the episode entitled "Alone" (reportedly, Kerr hated the script so much that he walked off the set, which is why Brody does not appear in that episode) and also wished to exit the series in the third season, which is why his character was critically injured in the season finale, "Splashdown". However, NBC would only agree to release him from his contract if he continued to play Brody for a few episodes in the third season so his character could be killed off for more dramatic impact in the episode "SpinDrift". (Because of rescheduling, the episode "Brainlock", with Brody still alive, aired after the character's death.) Rosalind Allen was released as her character proved to be unpopular with the audience. Marco Sanchez (Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz), who had requested to remain with the series, was also released after NBC decided it wanted the principal cast number dropped from ten to nine, leaving Jonathan Brandis (Lucas Wolenczak), Don Franklin (Commander Jonathan Ford), and Ted Raimi (Lieutenant Tim O'Neill) as the only three cast members who remained with the show since the first episode. The marine trivia presentations at the end of the show, formerly hosted by oceanographer Dr. Bob Ballard in the first season and the principal cast in the second season, were dropped entirely. The show itself was renamed to seaQuest 2032, with the storyline pushed ahead ten years after the end of season two.

"The world is not a nice place, it's not comfortable...corporate entities have grown to the point where they rival and sometimes are more powerful than actual national governments. UEO is not the big kid on the block anymore, seaQuest is no longer state of the art; it's a boat and it's a military vehicle and I'm going to take it places it has never been before." – Michael Ironside, in an interview promoting season three

In the season premiere, the seaQuest reappears, its crew mostly intact, ten years after their abduction at the end of season two. Captain Bridger retires to raise his new grandson and Michael Ironside joins the cast as the more militaristic Captain Oliver Hudson. Originally, Ironside refused to take over for Scheider as star of the series. "I saw so many problems that I couldn't see where I'd be able to do the work I wanted to do." claimed Ironside. After weeks of negotiations where Ironside offered producers of a number of changes to the storytelling structure of the series, which were mutually agreed upon, he finally signed on. "You won't see me fighting any man-eating glowworms, rubber plants, 40-foot crocodiles and I don't talk to Darwin." he said. Also joining the cast was Elise Neal as Lieutenant J.J. Fredericks, who serves as seaQuest's ace sub-fighter pilot. Steering back towards more reality based story lines, the third season attempted to blend the sense of the first season with some of the more unique elements of the second season, while at the same time, pushing forward in an entirely new direction altogether as the UEO faces the threat of the Macronesian Alliance and the ever growing corporate conglomerate Deon International. The series is perceived as becoming much darker than it was in the previous two seasons, focusing less on science (season 1) and science fiction (season 2) and more on international politics. While these changes were met with mostly positive reactions, ratings did not increase and NBC cancelled the series after thirteen episodes. The final network airing of seaQuest DSV/2032 took place on June 9, 1996 after 57 episodes.

• Roy Scheider as Captain Nathan Bridger (seasons 1–2 as well as "Brave New World", "Equilibrium", "Good Soldiers")
• Rosalind Allen as Dr. Wendy Smith (season 2)
• Jonathan Brandis as Lucas Wolenczak
• Stephanie Beacham as Dr. Kristin Westphalen (season 1)
• Stacy Haiduk as Lt. Commander Katherine Hitchcock (season 1)
• Don Franklin as Commander Jonathan Ford
• John D'Aquino as Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg (season 1 as well as "In the Company of Ice and Profit" in season 3)
• Royce D. Applegate as Chief Manilow Crocker (season 1)
• Ted Raimi as Lieutenant Tim O'Neill
• Marco Sanchez as Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz (seasons 1–2)
• Kathy Evison as Lieutenant JG Lenore Ellen "Lonnie" Henderson (seasons 2–3)
• Edward Kerr as Lieutenant James Brody (seasons 2–3)
• Peter DeLuise as Dagwood (seasons 2–3)
• Michael DeLuise as Seaman Anthony Piccolo (seasons 2–3)
• Michael Ironside as Captain Oliver Hudson (season 3)
• Elise Neal as Lieutenant J.J. Fredericks (season 3)
• Frank Welker as voice of Darwin (seasons 1–3)
• Bob Ballard as himself, marine trivia during credits (season 1)

Recurring guest cast

• Richard Herd as Admiral/Secretary General William Noyce (season 1–2)
• W. Morgan Sheppard as "The Old Man", Professor Martinson (season 1–2)
• Jesse Doran as General Francis Gideon Thomas (season 1–2)
• Kent McCord as Commander Scott Keller (season 1–2)
• Dustin Nguyen as Chief William Shan (season 1)
• Robert Engels as Malcolm Lansdowne (season 1)
• Mark Fauser as Weapons Officer Dalton Phillips (season 1)
• Timothy Omundson as Dr. Joshua Levin (season 1)
• Dan Hildebrand as Helmsman Carleton (season 1)
• Christopher M. Brown as Mr. Obatu (season 1)
• Roscoe Lee Browne as Dr. Raleigh Young (season 1)
• Sarah Koskoff as Julianna (season 1)
• Denis Arndt as Navy Quartermaster Bickle (season 1)
• James Shigeta as Montegnard Confederation President Chi (season 1)
• Jonathan Banks as Maximilian Scully (season 1, 3)
• Sam Jenkins as Mariah (season 2)
• Mark Hamill as Tobias LeConte (season 2)
• Michael Costello as Secretary General Arthur McGath (season 2–3)

• Karen Fraction as Dr. Perry (season 3)
• Michael York as President Alexander Bourne of Macronesia (season 3)
• Andrew Stahl as General Armand Stassi (season 3)
• Tim DeKay as Larry Deon (season 3)
• Ralph Wilcox as Mason Freeman (season 3)
• Patricia Charbonneau as Elaine Morse (season 3)

Additionally, seaQuest DSV employed a significant number of guest stars familiar with the sci-fi genre, many of whom had starred in other shows, such as...

• William Shatner (Captain Kirk in Star Trek) in the episode "Hide and Seek"
• Tim Russ (later Lt. Commander Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager) in the episode "Photon Bullet"
• Yaphet Kotto (Parker in Alien and Laughlin in The Running Man) in the episode "Treasures of the Tonga Trench"
• Charlton Heston (star of Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, Planet of the Apes and other classic 1960s and 1970s science-fiction films) in the episode "Abalon"
• David McCallum (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., NCIS, and the British series Sapphire and Steel) in the episode "seaWest."
• Seth Green (later Scott Evil in the Austin Powers films, Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Chris Griffin on Family Guy) in the episode "Photon Bullet"
• Kent McCord (Officer Jim Reed of Adam-12, Captain Troy of Galactica 1980, Jack Crichton of Farscape and Dave Unger in Airplane II: The Sequel) in the episodes "Better Than Martians", "Such Great Patience", "The Fear That Follows", "Dream Weaver", and "Splashdown"
• Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker and the voice of The Joker in various Batman animated series) in the episodes "Dream Weaver" and "Splashdown"
• Michael York (Logan in Logan's Run and Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers films) in the episodes "Brave New World", "Brainlock", and "Spindrift."

During the first and second seasons, NBC aired the show on Sundays at 8:00 PM. During the second season, NBC would begin preempting the show in favor of NBC Sports coverage. NBC had originally planned to cancel seaQuest DSV partway through the second season in favor of another show about a "high-tech truck" entitled Rolling Thunder. However, NBC executives were unimpressed with the new show's development and kept seaQuest DSV in production. Shortly before the third season was to premiere, the second season episode "Blindsided" was finally aired after being preempted twice. During the third season, NBC moved the show to Wednesdays at 8:00 PM; but, continued to frequently preempt the show in favor of sports coverage and other television specials. Several of the show's producers, including Carleton Eastlake, believe these preemptions led to the show's cancellation.

Currently, seaQuest DSV does not air in syndication or re-runs. After cancellation, the series aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States for a number of years as well as Space: The Imagination Station in Canada, both of which aired marathons of the series on occasion.

Title	Ep #	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Season One	23	December 26, 2005	November 20, 2006	December 5, 2006
Season Two	21	January 1, 2008	March 31, 2008	August 20, 2008
Season Three	13	TBA	TBA	October 5, 2011

Fans of seaQuest DSV have campaigned for the release of the series on DVD. Universal Home Video, which owns the distribution rights to the series, had at one time stated that it had no plans to release the show on DVD. Over the past few years, illegal bootleg recordings of the series have been sold on eBay and other online auction sites in VCD and DVD format.

In 2005, Universal announced that the first season of seaQuest DSV would be released on DVD on December 26, 2005 along with a week long marathon of the show on the Sci Fi Channel. Universal credited the fans with changing their minds about a DVD release. However, some also credit the successful sales of bootleg copies of the series. The DVD release included numerous deleted scenes as well as alternate versions of broadcast scenes. The first season was released on four double-sided discs. The only extras included were deleted scenes for a handful of episodes.

The second season was released on January 1, 2008. As opposed to the first season, the second season was released on eight single-sided discs. The second season does not contain any extra features such as deleted scenes. The first season DVD release presents the episodes in their original airdate order, which leads to some continuity errors from episode to episode. (see List of seaQuest DSV episodes for more information) The second season DVD release is presented in a similar fashion, however, the episode "Blindsided" is presented in the correct order, despite an incorrect summary of it on the DVD slipcase; the DVD slipcase mixes the summaries for it and "Splashdown" around.

All three seasons are available for streaming by Netflix subscribers, though as of mid-2012, the episode "The Stinger" gives the description for the episode "Whale Songs."

• A short series of novels based on the characters and concepts depicted on seaQuest DSV were available during the first season of the show. They were:
  • "seaQuest DSV: The Novel (Book 1)" (a novelization of the pilot episode) by Diane Duane and Peter Norwood. Published October 1993. ISBN 978-0-441-00037-1
  • "Fire Below" by Matthew J. Costello. Published January 1994. ISBN 0-441-00039-8
  • "The Ancient" by David Bischoff. Published March 1994. ISBN 0-441-00042-8
• Nemesis Comics published one issue of a seaQuest DSV comic book. A second issue was planned, but was ultimately not published.
• A video game was released for the Super Nintendo, Game Boy, and Sega Genesis consoles in 1994.
• A series of action figures designed by Playmates Toys were released in 1993. Captain Bridger, Commander Ford, Lucas Wolenczak, Lt. Commander Hitchcock, Lieutenant O'Neill, Chief Crocker, Darwin, Dr. Rubin Zellar, and The Regulator were released as part of wave one. Additional characters such as Dr. Westphalen, Chief Ortiz, and Lieutenant Krieg and a Darwin with sound effects were planned as part of wave two, but they were never released. Additionally, prototypes of the seaQuest, the Delta 4 Pirate sub, the Stinger, a seaLaunch, and a Deep Sea Mini Pickup, all with electronic lights and sounds, are known to exist but were also not released either.
• A series of trading cards produced by SkyBox were released, depicting characters, scenes, and episodes from the first season.
• Various models were produced by Monogram, including the seaQuest, a Deep Sea Mini Pickup, The Stinger, and Darwin (actually a remolded Flipper) were released.
• Various pieces of clothing, including T-shirts, baseball caps, and embroidered patches of the seaQuest and UEO logos (replicas of the ones used on the show) were released.
• A non-fictional large format book was released during the first season and contained comprehensive interviews and production information, – also art work and design histories, as well as a production report of the episode "Hide and Seek."

Other merchandise made available included a shot glass in cobalt blue with gold logo, key chains and pins, a book cover, 'magic rocks' sets, journal, and a set of bookmarks.

Roy Scheider's character was based on John C. Lilly. Lilly was a pioneer researcher into the nature of consciousness using as his principal tools the isolation tank, dolphin communication and psychedelic drugs, sometimes in combination. He was a prominent member of the Californian counterculture of scientists, mystics and thinkers that arose in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Albert Hofmann, Gregory Bateson, Ram Dass, Timothy Leary, Werner Erhard, and Richard Feynman were all frequent visitors to his home. The character's name, Nathan Hale Bridger, was in homage to Nathan Hale.

When producers began developing new characters for the second season, they named Lieutenant Brody after Police Chief Martin Brody, Roy Scheider's character in the first two Jaws films. Ralph Willcox and Karen Fraction, who both became recurring guest stars in the third season, had previously appeared as different characters in the second. Despite the numerous cast changes, Jonathan Brandis appeared in every episode of the series, as did Don Franklin (except for "And Everything Nice").

Several of the cast's family members were brought in to play characters, as well. Brenda King, Roy Scheider's wife, portrayed Carol Bridger; Todd Allen, Rosalind Allen's husband, portrayed Clay Marshall in "The Siamese Dream". Several cast members also dabbled on the creative side of the show, as both Ted Raimi and Jonathan Brandis penned episodes during the second season. (Brandis wrote the aforementioned "The Siamese Dream" and Raimi, "Lostland.") Conversely, Robert Engels, one of the show's executive producers (and writer of two episodes, "Greed For a Pirate's Dream" and "Hide and Seek") during the first season, portrayed the recurring character Malcolm Lansdowne.

After the series had moved production from Los Angeles to Florida in the second season, the filming crew was able to take advantage of some nearby landmarks. The exterior scenes in the episode "Playtime" were filmed in Lakeland, Florida, (specifically, the campus at Florida Southern College) to take advantage of the buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

In several instances in the series, outside footage was employed. In the pilot episode, the scene from The Hunt for Red October where the USS Dallas and the Red October are rising to periscope depth alongside each other was used. In this same episode, the home-movie segment employed footage shot at a Dolphin's Plus in Key Largo, Florida, by Steve "Finz" Finzelber. Images of the Airwolf helicopter from the television series of the same name was also used in "Hide and Seek."

While in production, seaQuest DSV won and was nominated for a number of awards. John Debney won the 1994 Emmy for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music" for his composition of the seaQuest DSV theme song and in 2000, it was named the 48th best theme song of all time by TV Guide. Don Davis also won an Emmy in 1995 for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series" (Dramatic Underscore) for his score for the second season premiere, "Daggers." Russ Mitchell Landau was also nominated for his work on the third season premiere, "Brave New World", in 1996. Kenneth D. Zunder was nominated for the Emmy award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Cinematography for a Series" for the episode "Such Great Patience". Jonathan Brandis won the 1994 Young Artist Award for "Best Youth Actor Leading Role in a Television Series" for his portrayal of Lucas Wolenczak and the series was nominated for a 1994 ASC Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Pilots" as well as the Saturn Award for "Best Genre Television Series" in 1995.

A seaQuest DSV feature film was in pre-production stages, however, it never materialized.

Despite being scripted in at least one episode, Captain Bridger never refers to Dagwood by name. The closest he ever got was calling him "Dag" in the episodes "Special Delivery" and "The Siamese Dream".

After the change in title from seaQuest DSV to seaQuest 2032, a new opening credits montage was assembled, which included stock footage of The Regulator and his orangutan Verne from the first season episode “The Regulator”.

When the series was ultimately canceled in December 1995, no one working on the show knew that the final episode would prove to be "Weapons of War." Several episodes had reached script stages to follow it, but, ultimately never went into production. During the filming of the final scene in the final episode, Michael Ironside gave a small speech thanking the cast and crew for the time they spent working on the show. Following his words, Ironside tossed Jonathan Brandis into the moon pool on the sea deck set.

Two years after the end of the series, Jonathan Brandis, Don Franklin, Marco Sanchez, Ted Raimi, and Michael and Peter DeLuise reunited to film the motion picture Between the Sheets, which was written and directed by Peter and Michael DeLuise.

In the years following the show's cancellation, several cast members have died. Jonathan Brandis committed suicide in November 2003; Royce Applegate died in a fire on New Year's in 2003; Karen Fraction died in 2007 from breast cancer, and Roy Scheider died in 2008 from complications of a staph infection.