Amazon Prime’s Utopia is, perhaps, the most coincidentally timely series of the Coronavirus pandemic so far. Like the real world, it also features a national pandemic quickly taking lives, scientists testing vaccines and people protesting to have said vaccine released by the FDA before more extensive testing can take place. However, the similarities to the real world end there: this is more a story about conspiracies and how a small group of conspiracy hunters become embroiled in a ruthless plot by a shadowy organization.
Adapted by Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girl) from the 2013 British TV series of the same name, Utopia follows avid conspiracy theorists Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Wilson Wilson (Desmin Borges), Ian (Dan Byrd), Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop) and Grant (Javon “Wanna” Walton) as they meet up at pop-culture convention for the first time. All of them are dedicated fans of Dystopia, a comic book that supposedly predicted many deadly viruses. A couple recently discovered the sequel, Utopia and are looking for the highest bidder to sell the comic to. However, a group of deadly assassins soon show up and start hunting down anyone who has seen Utopia’s pages.
Soon, another mysterious figure (Sasha Lane) shows up and rescues the group. Turns out, she’s the real version of Dystopia’s central character, Jessica Hyde, and she wants to find out where her father is being held by an ominous organization called the Harvest. While all this is happening, a beleaguered virologist, Michael Stearns (Rainn Wilson) becomes convinced that a new pandemic spreading across many cities is caused by a virus that he discovered years ago. As he becomes involved with the investigation, however, it becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems on the surface.
If you are discovering Utopia for the first time, then you’ll probably like the way the mystery box nature of the show is handled.
You might be less pleased with how it handles twists, however, especially in the early episodes where some developments seem to come truly out of left field. At times, the show gets absurd, with the core cast of plucky comic book nerds managing to pull off a lot more than you would expect them to in stressful situations. Still, the show builds on paranoia quite well, making it difficult to trust any character the group comes across. All of them are shady, desperate or vile, or in some cases, a combination of all three.
The core cast aren’t as engaging as they could have been. They don’t really have distinguishing characteristics, other than the one person who has a genetic illness. Even then, said person doesn’t display any other traits, other than being kind. Sasha Lane’s Jessica Hyde is integral to the show’s narrative, but she comes off as too ruthless, cold and slightly crazed. It’s a shame, because the character, portrayed by Fiona O’Shaughnessy, was memorably strange in the original British series.
John Cusack, who plays pharmaceutical head honcho Kevin Christie, does provide a deceptively shrewd performance, his signature understated nature belying his character’s sinister undertones. He has a benign, paternal personality that throws you off, and that works to his advantage. Arby, the terrifying hitman portrayed by Christopher Denham, is more childlike in this incarnation, which casts his monstrous acts in a different light than the original.
Another thing that holds the series back is its muted color palette. The original show set a unique, vibrant tone by using a CMYK color model. The show’s direction is also slightly pedestrian, which is a shame because David Fincher was once attached to direct.
Despite its numerous flaws, Utopia is entertaining, and in some cases, downright chilling.
Now that the show has mostly set up all the pieces, hopefully it can do better in utilizing them during future seasons. I wish I could tell you that would be better off by just watching the British original, but the show was cancelled after the first two seasons, leaving things on a cliffhanger. Let’s hope its American counterpart can get the chance to tell a full story.