Utopia (Channel 4) [** Spoilers **]

Sugar Free

When she says 'gutters' at 9 seconds...has to be her unless someone else is carrying around that strange mix of Galwegian/English accent.

Birneybau

100℅ her.

ibarelycare

Yeah it clicked with me the first time I heard it She has a very distinctive voice.

DerekDGoldfish

Apparently there is a follow up add with Arby/Peiter chasing down mortgage defaulters.

Birneybau

And another one with Arby wherein he's a television license inspector and the other people in the house he calls to say Jessica Hyde bought it but now they don't know where she is. He goes asking about for her...

Basq

Well, this is absolute bollocks!

It’s official: Dennis Kelly’s innovative, stylish drama series Utopia will not be back for a third series on Channel 4…

Sad news, this. After two exhilarating, bold, and eerily beautiful series, it's been confirmed that Channel 4’s Utopia will not be returning for a third run.

Utopia, from writer Dennis Kelly (Pulling, Matilda: The Musical), who had plans for a third and possibly fourth series of the drama, concluded its second series earlier this year.

The second run was another twisted tale of global conspiracy and dysfunctional family love that opened with an audacious flashback episode directed by Marc Munden that’s sure to top more than a few 'TV episodes of the year' lists come December.

Quality and audacity don’t often go hand in hand with massive ratings, sadly, and with a slate of new dramas arriving on Channel 4 in the coming year (including much-anticipated sci-fi Humans, and more), the decision was taken to lay Utopia to rest.

A Channel 4 spokesperson told Den of Geek, "Utopia is truly channel-defining: strikingly original, powered by Dennis Kelly's extraordinary voice and brought to life in all its technicolor glory through Marc Munden's undeniable creative flair and vision, the team at Kudos delivered a series which has achieved fervent cult status over two brilliantly warped and nail-biting series. It also has the honour of ensuring audiences will never look at a spoon in the same way again. It’s always painful to say goodbye to shows we love, but it’s a necessary part of being able to commission new drama, a raft of which are launching on the channel throughout 2015.”

A US remake of Kelly's series, directed by David Fincher, is due to arrive on HBO in 2015.

Source

ibarelycare

:(:(:(


Very disappointing. It did seem to have only a cult following though. The vast majority of people I ever mentioned it to had never heard of it.

ricero

Basq wrote: »

Well, this is absolute bollocks!


Source

Ridiculous decision and season 3 had so much potential especially with the way things ended in series 2

Chimaera

That's really disappointing. I can see their point about wanting to bring forward new stuff, but really I don't see how anything this original is likely to emerge for a long time.

ixoy

I bet most of the new stuff this is being sacrificed for will be just more cookie cutter detective or hospital dramas without a tenth of Utopia's originality or flair. Nor will they look half as good.

At least we've a HBO version. They're a strong channel and David Fincher is directing the entire first season. He's a strong visual director which is what's needed.

Mardy Bum

By far the best original British drama I've seen. It's amazing what can happen in the TV industry.

pixelburp

Very disappointing news, although if I play Devil's Advocate for a moment, perhaps it's better for the show to go out now, on a slightly ambiguous if downbeat note, than totter along for another couple of seasons with the law of diminishing returns in full effect; I wasn't sure where the show could go from the season 2 climax, beyond yet another attempt by The Network to sterilise humanity.

I'll be curious to know where Marc Munden goes from here though, his work on the show was gorgeous to watch, really breathtaking stuff. Fincher will bring a different set of skills to the US remake, but I'd be sceptical any American version will be able to capture the macabre, surreal atmosphere that British dystopias tends to do very well.

reni10

That is pure nonsense from channel 4!

This was the best British TV by far of the last few years and they cut it!

Here is Netflix's chance to pick this up and do it justice...

How Soon Is Now

Hope someone else picks this up what a load of bollox to cancel it in favour of id imagine some watered down crap.

I mean look at some of the **** Channel 4 show they get rid of one of the best tv shows to come out of the Uk makes no sense.

Basq

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

I mean look at some of the **** Channel 4 show..

To be fair, Channel 4's drama and comedy output over the last few years has been far from poor.

Fresh Meat, Friday Night Dinner, The Inbetweeners, Peep Show, The IT Crowd, Black Mirror, The Last Leg, Top Boy, Derek, Glue, Misfits, My Mad Fat Diary, Skins... OK, the last four were shown on E4 technically but still.. plenty of quality programming tbh.

But don't get me wrong, this was a horrible HORRIBLE decision!

How Soon Is Now

Basq wrote: »

To be fair, Channel 4's drama and comedy output over the last few years has been far from poor.

Fresh Meat, Friday Night Dinner, The Inbetweeners, Peep Show, The IT Crowd, Black Mirror, The Last Leg, Top Boy, Derek, Glue, Misfits, My Mad Fat Diary, Skins... OK, the last four were shown on E4 technically but still.. plenty of quality programming tbh.

But don't get me wrong, this was a horrible HORRIBLE decision!

Ah I'm aware theres been plenty good from there over last few years but makes no sense get rid one there strongest shows most original shows.

ixoy

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

Ah I'm aware theres been plenty good from there over last few years but makes no sense get rid one there strongest shows most original to.

Blame the viewing public to an extent here. The unwashed masses would prefer reality shows where people invite strangers over for dinner than highly original drama. Channel 4, to an extent, is responding to the fact few people watched it even if they're fools for not doing so.

How Soon Is Now

ixoy wrote: »

Blame the viewing public to an extent here. The unwashed masses would prefer reality shows where people invite strangers over for dinner than highly original drama. Channel 4, to an extent, is responding to the fact few people watched it even if they're fools for not doing so.

Fully agree its a shame because the show could be marketed towards any group of people really its not as if they tried to be high brow or go over anyones head. It always had a very dark yet trendy edge to it something i feel could only be done on a Channel 4 style station. The American version will be very different id imagine.

Im really gonna miss it one of my favorite shows i loved everything about it from the storyline the dark humour great soundtrack and was looking forward to seeing where they would go in the 3rd season.

Really hope someone picks it up but keeps it on the same road something tells me wont happen though.

Just a shame the same bull**** is what people will watch mostly and what brings in the views.

Will I Amnt

Could they not just stick it on E4?

How Soon Is Now

Will I Amnt wrote: »

Could they not just stick it on E4?

Even just give it one more season to finish the story then move on.

EITS

Gutted

DerekDGoldfish

It looked like it cost more to make than your average C4 show, i'd say that played a part. A pity because it was a very interesting show, but although I would have liked to see future series I think it achieved most of what it set out to do already.

Harry Palmr

I'm not that surprised - its not a cheap production as one look tells you, its very niche 10 PM drama on a channel that quietly shedding viewers. The best bet is that they do a "Ripper Street" and it gets picked up by a third party with deep pockets - then C4 can buy it as a "second run" market for half the cost.

That said I'd have wrapped it after the first series.

How Soon Is Now

Harry Palmr wrote: »

I'm not that surprised - its not a cheap production as one look tells you, its very niche 10 PM drama on a channel that quietly shedding viewers. The best bet is that they do a "Ripper Street" and it gets picked up by a third party with deep pockets - then C4 can buy it as a "second run" market for half the cost.

That said I'd have wrapped it after the first series.

It did at the time seem the kinda show that could of been done after one season but because i enjoyed it so much i was glad it continued and the second season was great!.

If the budget was been broke enough by it why finish the second season the way they did?

Harry Palmr

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

It did at the time seem the kinda show that could of been done after one season but because i enjoyed it so much i was glad it continued and the second season was great!.

If the budget was been broke enough by it why finish the second season the way they did?

Well the ending was clearly designed to be both open enough to continue but also closed enough to be an end. There was never any guarantee that C4 would commission the 2nd series never mind a third. That's the risk on UK telly esp on ITV/C4.

How Soon Is Now

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Well the ending was clearly designed to be both open enough to continue but also closed enough to be an end. There was never any guarantee that C4 would commission the 2nd series never mind a third. That's the risk on UK telly esp on ITV/C4.

It was open but at the same time they started fresh over almost at the end. If they had any feelings from Channel 4 about there not being a 3rd season why not just wrap it up.

DesperateDan

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

It always had a very dark yet trendy edge to it

That's a nice way to describe Utopia. I couldn't put my finger on it but those words kind of sum it up.

Some more nice words over on Den Of Geek if they haven't been posted already, including:

Exhilarating, bold, and eerily beautiful

Sad to see a show like that go. Maybe we can all convince Netflix to pick it up?

K-9

ixoy wrote: »

I bet most of the new stuff this is being sacrificed for will be just more cookie cutter detective or hospital dramas without a tenth of Utopia's originality or flair. Nor will they look half as good.

At least we've a HBO version. They're a strong channel and David Fincher is directing the entire first season. He's a strong visual director which is what's needed.

Same writer and director as Gone Girl which is promising.

ixoy

K-9 wrote: »

Same writer and director as Gone Girl which is promising.

Also did Se7en, Zodiac, The Social Network and Fight Club among others so he's a very strong choice in my opinion.

pickarooney

So it's been pulled in favour of the likes of Humans, a remake of an excellent Swedish Sci-fi series which didn't make it past season 2 due to low ratings, but now Utopia is being remade in the US...