Utopia is a British conspiracy thriller television series broadcast on the UK TV station Channel 4. Two series were produced, consisting of six episodes each. In 2014, the series was cancelled after two seasons, with the broadcasters commenting that the canceling the show was "a necessary part of being able to commission new drama."[1]

Series overview

Series Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 6 15 January 2013 19 February 2013
2 6 14 July 2014 12 August 2014

Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

No.
overall		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date UK Viewers (in millions)
final ratings
are sourced from BARB[2]
1"Episode 1"Marc MundenDennis Kelly15 January 2013 (2013-01-15)1.70
As a comic store closes, two men named Arby and Lee enter searching for the unpublished second volume of the cult graphic novel 'The Utopia Experiments'. They belong to a shadowy organization known as The Network that is in pursuit of the manuscript and a person named Jessica Hyde, and are willing to kill to track both down. With the manuscript having been sold, they kill everyone in the store. Five strangers from an online comic book forum agree to meet after one of them gains possession of the original manuscript. While three of the forum members – Ian, Becky, and Wilson – meet in a pub, Bejan, who acquired the manuscript, is confronted and killed by two Network henchmen, Arby and Lee. The only witness to the murder is 11-year-old Grant, the fifth member, and when he flees with the manuscript, the henchmen give chase. Ian and Becky soon find they've been framed for crimes they haven't committed, while Wilson talks to a detective named Reynolds about Bejan's death. Reynolds is confronted and stabbed in the neck by Arby, killing him, who along with Lee, track Wilson down and torture him, gouging out his eye before he is saved by Becky and Ian. As the trio's lives begin to fracture, civil servant Michael Dugdale's world is also torn apart as he is blackmailed by The Network for getting Anya, a Russian prostitute, pregnant. Just as things are looking increasingly desperate for Ian, Becky, and Wilson, they meet an enigmatic stranger: Jessica Hyde.[3]
2"Episode 2"Marc MundenDennis Kelly22 January 2013 (2013-01-22)1.45
Ian and Becky are forced to face the terrifying reality of life on the run when they witness Jessica breaking into homes. Jessica reveals that she is the daughter of the author of the Utopia manuscript, and that she has been on the run for most of her life. Ian and Jessica track down an undercover CIA agent posing as the wife of the publisher of the Utopia Experiments who recently killed himself, who directs them toward a source known as 'The Tramp.' The captive CIA agent is killed by Arby and after getting the needed information, Jessica strangles the Tramp to death. Becky discovers that Wilson's father, who Jessica says she is protecting, was killed by the Network, though hesitant, she ultimately hides this information from Wilson. Meanwhile, Dugdale is drawn deeper into The Network's plot, learning that they have insiders in major government intelligence agencies. Dugdale talks to a journalist, William Kaye, about exposing the Network but Dugdale watches the TV in shock, learning that Kaye was killed. Grant finally joins the group, having left the manuscript with a girl he recently met named Alice.[4]
3"Episode 3"Marc MundenDennis Kelly29 January 2013 (2013-01-29)1.42
The group feel the full weight of The Network's power when Grant is framed for a mass shooting at his school. Arby, the perpetrator and one who is usually without emotion, is left shaken by this event. With nowhere else to turn, they are forced to make a new ally, an MI5 agent named Milner, who tells them to meet her at a church. They are confronted by a Network assassin but Milner kills him. Arby learns of Alice's location, and a standoff ensues, during which Arby kills a helper and when Jessica takes too long, shoots Alice's mother in the head, killing her, and steals a large portion of the manuscript in exchange for Alice. [5]
4"Episode 4"Alex Garcia Lopez & Wayne Che YipDennis Kelly5 February 2013 (2013-02-05)1.52
The group take refuge in a derelict manor house. Attempting to decipher the secret meaning of the manuscript, they learn that a global food manufacturer may be involved in the spreading of a new disease, and that they intend to market a cure that only works on specific genetic profiles or races. Meanwhile, Alice is on the verge of a breakdown following the death of her mother, and Ian and Becky's relationship deepens. Dugdale's attempt to blackmail The Network backfires. The group visit a man connected to The Network, intending to extract information, but Alice fatally shoots him, believing him to be responsible for her mother's death.[6]
5"Episode 5"Alex Garcia Lopez & Wayne Che YipDennis Kelly12 February 2013 (2013-02-12)Less Than 1.21
The group attempt to extract information from their new hostage, Letts, who reveals that The Network plans to use the vaccine for the Russian flu as a vector for 'Janus,' a engineered virus that will sterilize 95% of the human race, in order to avert an impending overpopulation catastrophe. Becky's drug supplier tightens the screws, demanding the manuscript in exchange for future drugs, putting her in a dilemma. Ian, Grant, and Alice take the vaccine to Dugdale to provide him with ammunition against The Network, but Grant is arrested when Dugdale opts to phone the police. Jessica bonds with Arby and realizes that they are siblings. Arby leads her to a factory where he gives her the rest of the manuscript. He reveals a hidden gun and kills two assassins but burns the building and stays behind in it. Wilson frees Letts, agreeing with his viewpoints, and stabs himself to avoid blame. Letts returns to the office but is killed on the orders of his assistant.[7]
6"Episode 6"Alex Garcia Lopez & Wayne Che YipDennis Kelly19 February 2013 (2013-02-19)Less Than 1.15
Letts' assistant attempts to extract the code to Janus from Grant. Dugdale realizes Anya is a Network agent and fights back, tripping her up and hitting her, making her head smash against a glass table, killing her. He then joins the group to attempt to stop the vaccine from being deployed by setting fire to the shipping warehouse. As the group believe that Letts' assistant is in fact Mr. Rabbit, the head of The Network, Wilson and Jessica move to assassinate him. However, Wilson turns on Jessica, believing The Network's plan is necessary. Grant, being held captive by the assistant, uses a laptop shard to kill him by stabbing him in the throat and gives Jessica time to stab Wilson before they escape. With the vaccine destroyed and Mr. Rabbit believed dead, the group disbands. Dugdale and his wife take in Alice. Becky, Ian, and Grant plan to go to the Scottish Highlands. Jessica arranges to meet Milner to hand over the manuscript. At the train station, Becky has a fit - one of the signs that Deel's syndrome has begun to take effect. She distracts the others to board a train by herself. During her meeting with Milner, Jessica realises she is in fact Mr. Rabbit and burns the manuscript. Unbothered, Milner captures Jessica, revealing that the manuscript was nothing but a tool to bring her to the Network. In truth, her father hid the code for Janus in "his greatest achievement" – Jessica herself.

Series 2 (2014)

A second six-part series of Utopia was commissioned by Channel 4, going into production in late 2013.[8] Kudos Film and Television announced that series 2 would air in July 2014, which it did.[9]

No.
overall		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date UK Viewers (in millions)
7"Episode 1"Marc MundenDennis Kelly14 July 2014 (2014-07-14)0.90
An extended flashback to the 1970s reveals the origins of The Network. In 1974, Philip Carvel meets a young Milner and, after discussing the brewing overpopulation crisis, she begins obtaining resources for him to develop Janus. While testing it on his reticent son Pietre, he conducts a macabre experiment on a pet rabbit in an attempt to get a response from the child. He believes he has failed until his pregnant wife buys Pietre a rabbit which he soon kills. As Milner is helping her alcoholic husband Tom into a bathtub, the Assistant has a conversation about a laboratory that Milner orders to be killed, before drowning Tom in the bathtub. Carvel's wife subsequently kicks him out. A few months later she dies in childbirth, which Carvel realizes was caused by Milner, and Carvel raises his daughter, Jessica, himself, largely abandoning Pietre in favour of Jessica. Five years later, Carvel goes rogue and adjusts the formula for Janus. Milner talks to Carvel in a car with a journalist who he send Janus to, and orders the journalist to be shot through the head. As the journalist is killed by repeated gunshots, Milner threatens to torture Jessica if Janus is not given to her. Milner and The Assistant are desperate to learn what he changed, and kill several politicians to whom Carvel had been turning for help. They are blackmailed by a politician, Airey Neave, to get Margaret Thatcher elected as Prime Minister. Milner orders a torturer, Mr. Omida, to torture Carvel, but he escapes with the help of Christos. He stabs Omida with a scalpel and injects Janus into Jessica in secret as Omida dies of blood loss, with Christos later committing Carvel to a psychiatric hospital before leaving with Jessica. Margaret Thatcher is elected as Prime Minister but Milner kills Neave with a bomb in his car.
8"Episode 2"Marc MundenDennis Kelly15 July 2014 (2014-07-15)0.79
Jessica is held prisoner by The Network, which is trying to find out how Janus has been changed. Grant is believed to be dead and being looked after by Ian, who is searching for Becky. Arby tries to live a normal life with his girlfriend and her young daughter, until Lee is revealed to be alive and coerces him to return to The Network by threatening his new family. Wilson is now working for The Network. Becky and Donaldson meet with an unintelligible old man, Anton, who is supposedly an expert on Deel's Syndrome. Ian and Grant track Becky down, finding her with Donaldson and Anton in a warehouse just as the Network arrives to kill Donaldson. Donaldson ties himself to another scientist, Tony Bradley, but the warehouse is attacked by Network agents. Arby rescues them and tells them to run after killing all the agents, but Bradley suffers from a heart attack and dies. Meanwhile Jessica's interrogator, Ross, attempts to appeal to her but she traps him in a noose made out of book pages; Milner allows Ross to die by hanging.
9"Episode 3"Marc MundenDennis Kelly & John Donnelly22 July 2014 (2014-07-22)0.65
Lee intercepts Ian's boss, Joe, and slices his throat with the intention of framing it as a suicide but Joe begins to crawl, leading Lee to kill him by bludgeoning him with a fire extinguisher, framing Ian for the murder. The gang are on the run and find a hacker, Ben, who shows them that Russian flu is not fictional but a genuine weaponized virus. Jessica is set to be disected but she kills the two doctors and escapes The Network's custody, before she finds Dugdale. Ian and Becky realize Anton is Philip Carvel. They promise not to tell anyone else, but Ian calls Milner, who is shocked to learn of Carvel's survival. Carvel sees a news report on TV and shouts in English that Janus is real. Dugdale is met by a fellow scientist, Bridget, who discovers the truth about Russian Flu; when she gets too close to finding out his involvement, Michael orders her to be killed. When Lee arrives at Ben's home later that night, ready to kill him and his family, he finds Arby has already killed them. Arby makes a deal with Lee in exchange for Donaldson.
10"Episode 4"Sam Donovan[10]Dennis Kelly & John Donnelly29 July 2014 (2014-07-29)0.71
In America, a Network sleeper agent gets his orders and delivers a hidden canister to a local airport before killing his family and himself. Ian goes to look for Dugdale, only to find an excited Jessica at his house, whereupon they sleep together. Before he leaves, she hides a phone in his coat. Lee allows Arby to give his family new identities before he shoots Donaldson in the chest, killing him. Milner shows Wilson a sleeper agent who, when ordered, will fly a plane and disperse Russian flu across the United Kingdom, and explains that other agents will be doing the same. The worldwide pandemic will cause a rush for the vaccine, which will contain Janus. Becky tells Grant that Anton is Carvel, and they hire an interpreter so they can understand him. They find out about the sleeper agents, and how the flu is ready to be spread. Milner kidnaps Ian's brother and tells Wilson to shoot him. Jen and Alice are being held hostage by The Network to ensure Dugdale's cooperation. Jessica tells him that Milner is Mr Rabbit. Milner appears, and Jessica almost shoots her before Milner reveals her father is alive. Carvel tells them that he changed Janus to preserve a specific race, but then Arby appears and kills the interpreter, and is about to kill Ian and Becky before Grant stops him. Arby takes Grant and Carvel away. Milner shows Wilson Ian's captive brother Roy next to two MI5 agents, and tells Wilson that he must shoot them all in order to get Ian's attention. Wilson shoots and kills the agents but hesitates when faced with Roy, though he quickly overcomes it and kills him with a gunshot to the head.
11"Episode 5"Sam Donovan[11]Dennis Kelly5 August 2014 (2014-08-05)TBD
Network sleeper agent Terrence is activated, and packs several different passports and money into a bag. Arby takes Grant and Carvel to the countryside. Jessica has Milner track the phone she placed in Ian’s coat pocket (being worn by Grant), which leads them to Carvel. Ian and Becky go to Dugdale for answers, but Wilson arrives and asks them where Milner is. Dugdale tells them about the phone, allowing Wilson to track her down. While Jessica is unable to get Carvel to reveal the Janus alteration, Milner gets him to admit the truth: The Janus ‘vaccine’ does not work except for the Romani people, leaving everyone else to die from Russian flu. Carvel escapes, shooting Arby in the process, and reunites with Milner, Jessica taking a now-comatose Arby to safety. Wilson arrives and asks Milner if she has ordered the flu release. She says she has, but then uses Wilson's phone to order Terrence to release the flu. Wilson attempts to intimidate her into reversing the order, but Grant kills Milner before she can do so.
12"Episode 6"Sam Donovan[12]Dennis Kelly12 August 2014 (2014-08-12)TBD
At an airport, Terrance attempts to blend in with society. The group try to find out who Terrence is and where he will be. Becky is running out of tablets and plans to commit suicide, spending her last hours with Ian. Terrence kills another sleeper agent with a radio in his bathtub, collecting the locations of two canisters. Leah orders the other two sleeper agents killed and realizes that Terrence is preparing to release the flu immediately; meanwhile Terrence visits another sleeper agent and kills him by shooting him dead. They realize that the last location is being held by Dobri Gorski, a professor currently in prison for murder because he wanted to be safe from the Network; they try to get to him but Gorski is ultimately killed by Terrence before they can. Terrence gets the canister and Ian and Jessica corner him in a car park, where Ian stabs him in the stomach, before being forced to kill him by shooting him in the head before he can open the flu canister. Carvel tells Ian that the tablets Becky is taking aren't medication, but only an addictive opiate, and she is perfectly fine. Ian rushes to tell Becky but finds her unconscious, having attempted suicide. He successfully resuscitates her just as Network agents come and take him and the group away. Wilson informs Dugdale that he has planned new ways for the Network to distribute Janus without the flu pandemic, and threatens his family to get him to continue to work with the Network. Wilson kills Lee and carves the Chinese symbol for 'rabbit' on his abdomen, marking himself as the new Mr. Rabbit. Afterwards, it is revealed that Wilson is now in possession of all of the flu canisters, implying that he will fulfill the network's original vision. In the hospital, Arby remarkably awakens from his gunshot wound.

References

  1. ↑ "Utopia has been cancelled but its bold legacy will live on". Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Broadcasters' Audience Research Board
  3. ↑ "Utopia – Series 1 – Episode 1". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Utopia – Series 1 – Episode 2". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "Utopia – Series 1 – Episode 3". Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Utopia – Series 1 – Episode 4". Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Utopia – Series 1 – Episode 5". Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Brown, Maggie (18 March 2013). "Channel 4 commissions Utopia second series". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Utopia Kudos". Kudos. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  10. ↑ http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/utopia-video-2
  11. ↑ http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/utopia-video-0
  12. ↑ http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/utopia-video-5
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