Utopia (British TV series)

For other uses, see Utopia (disambiguation).

Utopia
Also known asIwtopia (Wales)
Genre
Created byDennis Kelly
Based on
an original idea
by
  • Huw Kennair-Jones
  • Mark Aldridge
  • Clare McDonald
Written by
Directed by
Starring
ComposerCristobal Tapia de Veer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Karen Wilson
  • Jane Featherstone
  • Dennis Kelly
ProducerRebekah Wray-Rogers
Production locationsLiverpool, England[1]
Cinematography
Editors
  • Luke Dunkley
  • David Charap
Running time45–62 minutes
Production companyKudos
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release15 January 2013 (2013-01-15) –
12 August 2014 (2014-08-12)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Utopia is a British thriller drama television series that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 15 January 2013 to 12 August 2014.[2][3] The show was written by Dennis Kelly and starred Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Adeel Akhtar, Paul Higgins, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Alexandra Roach, Oliver Woollford, Alistair Petrie, and Neil Maskell.[4][5] A second six-episode series was commissioned by Channel 4 and went into production in late 2013,[6] and was broadcast in July and August 2014.[7] The show has since gained a cult following.[8][9]

In October 2014, the series' official Twitter feed stated there would not be a third series.[10][11] HBO had originally planned to make an American version of the show in 2014, but did not produce it due to budget disputes. Amazon then acquired the rights to the series as of April 2018, and an American version was released on 25 September 2020. Initially nearly inaccessible for viewing on the U.S. market, Amazon released both of the original series on Amazon Prime on 1 November 2020.[12]

  1. ^ "Liverpool Film Location, Liverpool Film Office". Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Utopia, Channel 4, review". Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  3. ^ O'Donovan, Gerard (31 December 2012). "Ten TV shows to get you through the winter". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  4. ^ Arnold, Ben (12 January 2013). "Utopia: inside Channel 4's new unsettling thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  5. ^ Gilbert, Gerard (15 January 2013). "Utopia: They're coming to get you". The Independent. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  6. ^ Brown, Maggie (18 March 2013). "Channel 4 commissions Utopia second series". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Utopia – official site". Channel 4. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  8. ^ Seale, Jack (25 September 2020). "Utopia review – sanitised remake is no match for cult TV original". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Gillian Flynn's New TV Show Gives A British Cult Classic The 'Gone Girl' Treatment". Bustle. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  10. ^ "C4 Utopia". Twitter. 9 October 2014.
  11. ^ "Utopia not renewed for third series, Channel 4 announces". BBC. 10 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Utopia Season 1 on Prime". amazon.com. Retrieved 28 November 2020.