In what has to be some the least-welcome news of recent times, it has been announced that Channel 4’s all-round-brilliant Utopia will not be renewed for Series 3, much to the heartbreak of fans everywhere.
Despite the series – created by Dennis Kelly – receiving almost near-unanimous critical acclaim (we ourselves gave Series 1 a five-star rating – read out review here), it appears that Series 2 will be the last, unless some other channel picks it up or somebody starts a Kickstarter campaign.
It also seems a bit harsh, as with the series slated to be remade by David Fincher for HBO in the US, it would have been given the ratings boost it so apparently needed, so to cancel it now – especially considering the cliffhanger that Series 2 ended on – seems all the more cruel.
The reasoning for the decision from Channel 4 is apparently to make way for new dramas, with a spokesman from Channel 4 telling Den Of Geek: “Utopia is truly channel-defining: strikingly original, powered by Dennis Kelly’s extraordinary voice and brought to life in all its technicolor glory through Marc Munden’s undeniable creative flair and vision, the team at Kudos delivered a series which has achieved fervent cult status over two brilliantly warped and nail-biting series. It also has the honour of ensuring audiences will never look at a spoon in the same way again. It’s always painful to say goodbye to shows we love, but it’s a necessary part of being able to commission new drama, a raft of which are launching on the channel throughout 2015.”
Let’s just hope the ‘new drama’ matches up to what was undoubtedly one of the most singularly brilliant shows on TV. Utopia, you will be missed.
Utopia Series 2 is available to buy now from Amazon. Keep up with the latest genre TV news in the new issue of SciFiNow.
