Utopia means ‘no place,’ and that’s exactly where the cult conspiracy thriller finds itself after the TV series has been canceled. Despite the prospect of a high-profile HBO remake to be directed by David Fincher, the series has not been renewed for a third season in Britain. The violent but stylish-looking series, which focused on a murderous conspiracy surrounding a search for a legendary comic book manuscript, earned a small but devoted following, has been axed to make way for other high-quality dramas. “Quality and audacity don’t often go hand in hand with massive ratings, sadly, and with a slate of new dramas arriving on Channel 4 in the coming year (including much-anticipated sci-fi Humans, and more), the decision was taken to lay Utopia to rest,” reports Den of Geek.
Although series-creator Dennis Kelly had plans for a third season, Channel 4 decided to end it after what some consider the most interesting twelve hours of TV drama of the last two years (with the opening episode the second season earning the highest praise). “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,” said a spokesperson. “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.”
