Utopia (2020): Season 1

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Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Ratings

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5.2

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5.2	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Ratings

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Season Details & Credits

Prime Video | Season Premiere Date: September 25, 2020

Summary: Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Ian (Dan Byrd), Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Wilson Wilson (Desmin Borges) and Grant (Javon "Wanna" Walton) are fans of the Utopia comic and discover secret messages within its pages that predict major world events. They then find the comic protagonist, Jessica Hyde (Sasha Lane), is real and together they seek to saveBecky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Ian (Dan Byrd), Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Wilson Wilson (Desmin Borges) and Grant (Javon "Wanna" Walton) are fans of the Utopia comic and discover secret messages within its pages that predict major world events. They then find the comic protagonist, Jessica Hyde (Sasha Lane), is real and together they seek to save the world in this thriller written by Gillian Flynn and based on the British show of the same name.… Expand

Genre(s): Drama, Action & Adventure, Suspense

Season 1 Episodes

No episode information is currently available for this season

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

The Playlist Andrew Crump

Oct 5, 2020

“Utopia” thinks big to erect its overarching structure, but thinks small to give that structure its support. And it’s loaded with great work from its cast, particularly Lane, a talented actress with a gift for slipping in and out of genres and easily fitting into each. Read full review

Amy Glynn

Sep 23, 2020

This show zeroes in on the current social… well, current: panic, terror, distrust, feeling controlled, feeling like no one is in control; the kind of moment when it’s all too easy to believe the most unhinged conspiracists are probably onto something and where everything feels unequivocally as though it’s falling apart for good. It does it stylishly. Generously. Lavishly. Read full review

Sonia Saraiya

Sep 29, 2020

Like all conspiracy theories, Utopia’s central narrative ends up being a bit too grandiose and hokey to be entirely believed—which is sort of a relief, given how psychologically enveloping the conspiracy is for the first few episodes. But maybe that’s why I found it unnervingly compelling, too. Read full review

Caroline Framke

Sep 25, 2020

The result could be a fascinating mashup of sensibilities, but instead, the series flattens and settles into a more basic middle ground. Accidentally relevant topics or no, “Utopia” ends up feeling like a decently entertaining version of stories that have been told before. Read full review

David Fear

Sep 28, 2020

Even with its end-of-the-world urgency, this Utopia still feels sluggish, muddled, unfinished. It’s as if someone went to great pains to restore a classic car, added their own custom interior, and then forgot to fill up the tank with gas. Read full review

IndieWire Ben Travers

Sep 25, 2020

For how well “Utopia” mines modern society’s greatest fears, it’s mainly cultivating them for ambiance, not commentary. ... Ultimately, it’s just another spooky story in need of refinement. Read full review

Inkoo Kang

Sep 15, 2020

Flynn is unafraid of rapidly adding more and more branches to the Utopia mythology, which occasionally shocks but seldom intrigues. After seven episodes, the heroes remain underwritten archetypes, the villains are unconvincingly all-powerful yet constantly screwing up and there are more traumatized but precocious children (Javon Walton, Farrah Mackenzie) than there should be in a fight against the end of the world. Read full review

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User Reviews

viroodiem

Oct 3, 2020

7.5

It starts off with a perfect balance of intrigue and dark humor. Sadly by episode 3 that humor is mostly running on fumes. Then it is left with its conspiracy drama which is OK, but no where as great as it could have been. So 7.5 seems justifiable but 8 would be way too high. I7.5

It starts off with a perfect balance of intrigue and dark humor. Sadly by episode 3 that humor is mostly running on fumes. Then it is left with its conspiracy drama which is OK, but no where as great as it could have been.

So 7.5 seems justifiable but 8 would be way too high. I will however round up to 8 to help offset the pretentious people who cant judge things on their own merit without being influenced by the source material and want to down rate something because it isnt the original.

Its a good drama. Could have been better, but definitely good..It requires extensive mental gymnastics and pretentiousness to not see that.… Expand

0 of 5 users found this helpful05

ghostring_1412

Oct 30, 2020

Watchable for someone who didn’t know about the original UK series. Not that bad but not good either

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

pur__0_0__

Apr 25, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. When this show first arrived on Prime I thought this will be about as great as The Boys. After all, it has the Explore tab in which all the description and image gallery is given. How could it possibly be bad? But it seems the director has worked really hard to make us hate it. And this is coming from a guy who didn't even know there was a British version before coming on this website and reading other people's reviews.

None of the characters are likeable. The way the show began it seemed as though they will all be given more character depth as the story progresses, but no, no such thing happens. Rather that's all to them - they are nerds who just like a graphic novel and think it has something to do with real life, and so they are waiting for the next issue of Utopia to learn what will happen next. Now I won't say that this was a stupid idea, but who behaves like that in real life? It's like a couple of Simpson fans waiting for the next episode to come so that they can understand what happens in the future.

There are other characters too like Jessica Hyde and Grant, who are more annoying than the nerds. Apparently we are supposed to root for them, even though anyone will like the bad guy, Kevin Christie any day (I'll talk about why I like him later). His logic was absolutely correct - humans are like cancer to earth and that's why they need to be eradicated. It's not like he was giving humans a painful death; he was only making them impotent for the next 3 generations. And instead of giving a valid counter argument over why he's wrong they just choose to tie him up, go to his lab and destroy all his medicines.

Then there was Arby. I really liked him because of the way he spoke. His eye scooping torture and the way he killed Wilson's dad was very intriguing. But later on he also became a generic "boo-hoo" character (if that makes sense). I really wanted to like him, but he wasn't interesting anymore.

Though I'd give this show one redeeming quality about which I said I will talk about - Dr Kevin Christie. One of his dialogues has now become my favourite quote from any TV show - "What have you done today to earn your place in this crowded world?". His motivations are clearly driven by his love towards animals and nature, which is being rampaged over by overpopulation. Since we cannot kill people or wait for the population to start going down through education, the only way left is to make them impotent. It won't finish the human population, it would just reduce the dependency for a certain time period.

But they showed this legendary character to be the bad guy, which instantly ruined the entire show for me. I would have probably given this show a 7 if they didn't offend me like this. I'm really happy that this show has been cancelled, so I don't have to see such the actual hero get looked down upon anymore.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

CodyYoung

Sep 26, 2020

I will give it two stars for the two watchable episodes which lead the series. If nothing else, I am intensely interested in seeing the BBC series whom which they adopted this effort. A pity it is proving so elusive to find streaming in the US.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

skykappah

Nov 11, 2020

Nowhere near as good as the British version in every aspect and then they go and kill the main lead of the show just to Game of Thrones you... But this time it didn't work because it happens in episode 2 (way too early) and Rothe/Sam is the only watchable actor and character in the show.Nowhere near as good as the British version in every aspect and then they go and kill the main lead of the show just to Game of Thrones you... But this time it didn't work because it happens in episode 2 (way too early) and Rothe/Sam is the only watchable actor and character in the show. That leaves you with no characters to root for unlike Game of Thrones. Bad, bad writing....… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

PurpleWeaver

Sep 26, 2020

Drivel. This barely watchable, paltry imitation takes the subtly woven plot points of the original and violently forces them down your throat in the first episode. That's to say nothing of the utter lack of even an effort towards the artistry of the original which is as enthralling andDrivel. This barely watchable, paltry imitation takes the subtly woven plot points of the original and violently forces them down your throat in the first episode. That's to say nothing of the utter lack of even an effort towards the artistry of the original which is as enthralling and outstanding today as it ever was. Even if this remake wasn't heresy, it's still utter trash.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

charlietspeck

Sep 26, 2020

Not even comparable to the original by Channel 4 back in 2013-2014. Heartbreaking and incredibly disappointing.

5 of 6 users found this helpful51

Seasons & Episodes

56

Series Overview
Season 1

56
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: September 25, 2020
- No episode information is currently available for this season