Utopia

Yes, I get it, direction, writing, shooting locations they all bring something to the formula that makes a great tv show. However, when adapting cult classics like utopia you have to ensure the actors are truly up to snuff, why? Because this show gets to the very heart of the matter that is the human experience, and so far, I'm just not sure the cast have that esoteric element required. From the very first moment, the actors in the British version were astounding the viewer with how serious this violently comedic drama was taking itself before metaphysically slamming you against the wall and slapping your astonished face around a bit. Look, it's early days and I do so hope the show entertains because the U.K. version was cruelly cut short after season two and there are plenty of fans out there who wanted to see where utopia was leading us to...

I am another devotee of the original version of "Utopia" which always comes up as an underseen gem, whenever such lists are made. I quite enjoyed this retelling, though I'm not sure the increase in scale and scope was necessary and it may go down as literally the worst timed release to a series of all time.

Five enthusiastic fans of a cult graphic novel come to a convention with a plan to purchase an unpublished sequel. Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Ian (Dan Byrd), Wilson (Desmin Borges), Samantha (Jessica Rothe) and Grant (Javon Walton) are unsuccessful in buying the comic, but are fortunate to escape when all the other interested parties are murdered by a pair on unconventional hitmen, Arby (Christopher Denham) and Rod (Michael B Woods). The graphic novel contains hidden symbolic messages that may be related to a pandemic that is sweeping the nation and for which noted scientist and industrialist Dr Kevin Christie (John Cusack) is being blamed.

Whilst I don't think this version of "Utopia" is as good as the original it certainly wasn't bad, and in terms of quality certainly doesn't deserve the relatively poor audience it must have received for Amazon to decide to cancel it so quickly. The unfortunate situation that occurred since filming, that 2020 would be swallowed by a real global pandemic, and with the series having horribly prescient parallels to Covid, couldn't have been foreseen - but does, I suspect, mean that the potential audience was looking for escapism that the show doesn't provide.

It's hard to not compare this to its predecessor. On its own terms it's a dark, darkly comedic, drama with good performances from the cast and a decent story that reaches a conclusion, if clearly not the end of the story. The increase in scale that came with this remake I don't think works in its favour. Both the scale and power of "The Network" increasing exponentially makes them less a shadowy cabal and more every other multinational company.

But generally I enjoyed it and I'm sad to see that a second series isn't going to be forthcoming.

It's only half decent cause the uk version was great. Just like most shows the USA copies they mess it up a bit.

If you think this is great. Do yourself a favour and stop watching and just watch h the original one.

What an absolutely embarrassing disaster this show is. I have never seen a different version of a successful show be this terrible. They got everything that made the original UK version great wrong. This show is a perfect example of what happens when Americans try to horribly copy a successful non-American show. A good example would be The Office US version, a bad example is this one. The plot and the acting and writing all are just bad. It's hilarious how terrible the characters are compared to the UK version. I rarely write reviews on things I've seen except when I feel like I need to, and when this show, it's an insult to the absolutely brilliant UK Utopia.

And to think the money that went into making this joke of a show would've been better spent on making a third season of the original Utopia.

I liked Amazon's Utopia enough to finish season one. I mean, being that 99.9% of American television wanders between IQ diminishing & total brain rot this series is at least watchable. But then I decided to watch the original version of Utopia that aired in the UK back in 2013. And after just 2 episodes I realized that it already put Amazon's 2020 Utopia to shame. It seems to me by americanizing Utopia Amazon turned a gem into a pacifier for the masses. By removing parts of an already great script and replacing them with America's PC ideology, Amazon made their own version become stale and a bit bland. If you like this Utopia then be sure to check out the original; which happens to be streaming on Amazon video for no cost to subscribers.