One Of The Most Underrated Sci-Fi Shows Ever Got A Terrible Prime Video Adaptation

This post contains spoilers for “Utopia” and its 2020 adaptation. 

Have you ever watched a television series on a whim, only to be blown away by its audacious brilliance and baffled by how criminally overlooked it is? Dennis Kelly’s British sci-fi thriller, “Utopia,” slots into this category of shows that remain overlooked despite being profusely lauded during their run on network television. It is a series that should be on every ” X Best Television Shows” list of the past decade, but unfortunately, this Channel 4 drama never managed to achieve mainstream success despite getting an American adaptation. Before we talk about the maligned 2020 adaptation, let us take a peek into the wonderfully strange and gratuitously violent world of “Utopia,” and why it was abruptly cancelled after two seasons.

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“Utopia” revolves around an unpublished graphic novel sequel titled “The Utopia Experiments Part 2,” which is rumored to contain information that predicts the fate of the world. The basis for such far-fetched assumptions is that Part 1 in the graphic novel series did predict key world events, including mad cow disease and related socio-political circumstances. Part 1’s popularity births groups obsessed with the series and its seemingly prophetic author, leading to a mad search for the increasingly mysterious Part 2, which promises to reveal much more. Four friends — Becky (Alexandra Roach), Ian (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), Grant (Oliver Woollford), and Wilson (Adeel Akhtar) — get very close to uncovering the coveted manuscript, which inadvertently opens a Pandora’s Box worth of secrets, conspiracies, and dangerous truths that are best left undiscovered.

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It is not hyperbole to call “Utopia” inimitable, as the British series explores familiar sci-fi thrillers in the most original and unexpected ways. It is worth noting that the series’ unabashed approach to speculative fiction invited controversy after Season 1 aired, with most of the complaints surrounding the show’s intense violence (that coincidentally mirrored real-life tragedies). Moreover, a storyline that frequently references real-world incidents (such as natural calamities, man-made disasters, and assassinations) prompted criticisms from some audiences, which might’ve hurt its chances to make a mark beyond its cult status.

As striking and brilliant as “Utopia” is, Channel 4 made the difficult decision to cancel the show after its second season in 2014. The reasons behind this were a combination of factors: poor viewership numbers, repeated complaints about its violent content, and a prematurely planned HBO adaptation that ensured that the show never aired outside of the UK. David Fincher was initially attached to the American adaptation during the initial stages, but a financial dispute eventually led to Gillian Flynn acting as showrunner and Prime Video picking up the series. Although the source material was relatively unheard of in the U.S., the adaptation had the rare chance to showcase its one-of-a-kind roots while presenting viewers with a fresh approach that adapted to ever-evolving times. Regrettably, everything about the 2020 remake feels inferior to Kelly’s cult hit series.

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The primary factor that contributed to the show’s poor reception was its ill-timed release that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, fiction that mirrors real-world events can and does earn widespread appeal during desperate times, but the Prime Video show’s awkward, jarring approach to these topics only alienated interested viewers. Moreover, Kelly’s exploration of obsessive comic book fans racing to uncover unspeakable secrets is exciting and organic, while Fynn’s show treats this premise in the drabbest way imaginable.

Despite recreating the original’s proclivity for violence and dramatic excess, 2020’s “Utopia” doesn’t come close to capturing the vibe of a show that broke the mold of science fiction that is both timely and futuristic. Perhaps, an oversaturation of similarly themed genre stories that feature conspiracies and general paranoia didn’t help matters at the time. After all, pointed cynicism (that lacks true grit or heart) during a global crisis that wrought tragedy can feel downright repugnant instead of resonating on a universal level. Even when the story picks up and mimics the same narrative beats as its predecessor, the impact is devoid of urgency, with some of the modified threads appearing tone-deaf in light of real-world circumstances.

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Although the original “Utopia” ends with an eternal cliffhanger (which might never get resolved), I urge anyone interested in perceptive, offbeat science fiction to check out the series.