![]() ![]() Which is why it’s such a tragedy that Utopia has been cancelled by Channel 4. Even when it got a second season, a point when it could have become repetitive, it began not with a continuation from a cliff-hanger, but with a flashback to form a standalone prequel a bold move that, quite simply, refused to follow the rules. Combined, they formed a show that was undoubtedly British – but wholly unique. Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s experimental score was in turns scary, sad and exciting. And the music? Don’t get us started on the music. ![]() Its directing team – led by Marc Munden – turned the screen into a veritable comic book, full of sickly yellows and crimson reds a garish palette that played right into the show’s striking themes. ![]() ![]() The cast (including Kill List’s Neil Maskell, Four Lions’ Adeel Akhtar, Game of Thrones’ Rose Leslie and The Iron Lady’s Alexandra Roach) was a mix of known talent and fresh new faces. It was unrelentingly bleak and uncompromisingly violent and unbelievably brilliant a provocative show that felt important as well as entertaining.Īnd yet its subject matter was not the only original thing about it. Telling the story of a group of people uncovering a global conspiracy linked to the manuscript of an unpublished graphic novel, writer Dennis Kelly (who penned the non-singing parts of Matilda: The Musical) turned what could have been a gimmicky premise into a scathing tale of corruption, environmentalism and the survival of the modern human race – with a dash of eugenics thrown in. Which is why Channel 4’s Utopia was such a stunning show. But crime thrillers, high-concept sci-fi, period dramas and more are filling up our screens – series may have something special about them, but many largely fall into a genre or sub-genre that feels familiar. Television is going through something of a golden age at the moment, from Breaking Bad through to Amazon’s Transparent. Paul Higgins (In the Loop, The Thick of It), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Misfits), Alexandra Roach (The Iron Lady) and Neil Maskell (Kill List) head up a stunning ensemble cast of UK talent including James Fox (Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Performance), Geraldine James (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) Simon McBurney (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Fiona O' Shaughnessy (Outcast, Malice, Aforethought), Adeel Akhtar (The Dictator, Four Lions), Oliver Woollford (Blackout) and Michael Smiley (Kill List) who find themselves embroiled in a cult conspiracy theory turned terrifyingly real in this brand-new six-part drama series.How often is it that you can say a TV programme is unique? Just as things are looking increasingly desperate for Ian, Becky and Wilson, they come face to face with an enigmatic stranger who claims to offer them a way out. Will he be able to escape their grip before it is too late?Īs the trio's lives begin to fracture, the world of civil servant Michael Dugdale is also torn apart as he is blackmailed by The Network over his affair with a prostitute. Elsewhere, Ian and Becky find themselves set-up for crimes they have not committed, and Wilson's hacking skills attract the attention of Network henchmen Arby and Lee. Unable to return home, Grant finds himself alone. The only witness to the murder is the 11-year-old Grant - the fifth forum member - and when he flees with the manuscript, the henchmen give chase. dropout, Becky, a student, and Wilson, a conspiracy theorist - meet in the pub, another is confronted and killed by two Network henchmen. Whilst three of the forum members - Ian, an I.T. When a small group of previously unconnected people who have met on a forum, find themselves in possession of an original manuscript of the fabled book, their lives suddenly and brutally implode, relentlessly pursued by a shadowy unit called The Network who will stop at nothing, to keep its origin and meaning secret. Dennis Kelly's enigmatic thriller Utopia centres around The Utopia Experiments, a legendary graphic novel shrouded in mystery. ![]()
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