![]() I wanted bursts of fear, epiphany and the kinds of laughs that blast out of you unexpectedly. As I was pitching my vision to studios, I described it as Marathon Man meets The Goonies. Gnarly, nasty, raw and unnerving – and yet I wanted to be sure it was peopled with the kinds of characters you really become fond of. ![]() Utopia is based on Dennis Kelly’s sleek and propulsive 2013 UK series of the same name – about a group of comic-book nerds who come to believe a mysterious graphic novel may hold the key to saving the planet.Īs I approached the series, I took my inspiration from 1970s paranoia thrillers like Parallax View and All the President’s Men. I’m extremely excited to be presenting you with Utopia, a series I created, wrote and executive produced for Amazon Studios. Utopia premieres on Prime Video on September 25, 2020 The underlying story of Utopia is a well-crafted thriller, so audiences may want to latch on to this group of friends obsessed with a comic-book that may be the key to forestalling a modern day apocalypse. It remains to be seen if Flynn’s version, with less edge (David Fincher was originally slated to direct for HBO, which would have changed things) but more broad appeal, can build an audience to stay on for a longer course. The Channel 4 series attracted a loyal but limited audience that in the end couldn’t justify production beyond two series. In that, there are echoes of the popular sci fi/fantasy series Heroes, which featured paintings rather than comic-book illustrations that foretold the future, and an ensemble of characters (gifted with super powers in Heroes’ case) destined to confront a global catastrophe. “Why do we keep thinking it’s the end of the fucking world?” To quote a character in the first episode. Utopia’s comic-book uses metaphors to reveal possible conspiracies and prophecies, intersecting with current public debate over the handling of the pandemic in provocative ways, probably not intentional at the time of writing but certainly hitting a nerve now as the series launches. Though the characters in this version don’t generally match up to the Emmy winning UK original, Flynn has done an excellent job with the two new characters (Stearn and Christie) by using them to open up interesting and unexpected dimensions in the story development. Special mention goes to Rainn Wilson ( The Office) as neurotic virologist Michael Stearns, whose character is pushed and pulled along the most dramatic challenges of all. Dan Byrd ( Easy A), Sasha Lane ( American Honey), Ashleigh LaThrop ( The Handmaid’s Tale) and Javon Walton ( Euphoria) as a young boxer, are among those making up the rest of the cast. Desmin Borges (Netflix’s Living With Yourself) is particularly believable as paranoid conspiracy-theorist Wilson Wilson and John Cusack pulls off a fascinating ambiguous role as pharmaceutical billionaire Dr Kevin Christie. There’s plenty of good chemistry among the ensemble cast, played by a range of newcomers and more familiar faces. In the end, it may come down to whether you relate to the assorted geeks and activists and want to spend time with them. The framing of scenes often puts characters front and centre in a style that crosses comic-book with Wes Anderson irony, which can leave the viewer a little detached. The filmmaking is stylish with arthouse opening credits and a juicy colour palette. This is one of several drawn out scenes that will either hook you in, or have you reaching to fast forward. It’s a tried and tested audition lineup style, faintly entertaining but it goes on too long. ![]() There’s a long sequence in episode one, where a parade of geeks and costumed characters sit on a couch in front of these unwitting owners of the holy grail of comic-books, to bid for ownership. ![]() A group of online comic-book fans join forces to bid for ‘Utopia’, sequel to ‘Dystopia’, the cult graphic novel that they’re all obsessed with. Naive newlyweds inherit an old family house and hit pay dirt when they find rare comic-books among the leftover junk. It’s a re-do of the 2013 British series of the same name, by Gillian Flynn* ( Gone Girl), who is also showrunner and executive producer.ĭennis Kelly’s violent, edgy production for Channel 4 began the story at the same point as Flynn’s version. Pharmaceutical conspiracy theories, pandemics and debate over vaccine safety… sound familiar? Our media have been awash with such stories over the last months, but Utopia, the new eight-part Amazon Original series wasn’t penned with current events in mind.
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