# Utopia on Amazon Prime **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, amazon-prime\ **Created:** [September 27, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670 "2020-09-27T14:14:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/1 "2020-09-27T14:14:49Z")
Anybody start watching this? Just came out Sept. 25. I’m only 2 episodes in, so I can’t spoil much plot wise, but if you want to start watching it not knowing anything, you might want to stop reading now… It’s a series about a comic book that predicts the rise of new viruses and illnesses in general. There’s a pandemic storyline, so it’s eerily prescient, because I’m sure it was filmed well before the rise of Covid. It’s shockingly violent; i’m not squeamish about fictional violence but the murder body count just 2 episodes in is like Game of Thrones level. Good to see Rainn Wilson getting acting work again- I feel like he’s been criminally underutilized since The Office ended. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/2 "2020-09-27T14:33:18Z")
I found it interesting that it’s so fortuitous that they had to put a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode "this has nothing to do with the Covid pandemic. As you get further into the series, some of the parallels are quite WTF-ish. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/3 "2020-09-27T16:54:21Z")
Thanks. Episode 2 just started. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/4 "2020-09-27T22:43:06Z")
Nice. Up to episode 3 and still interested. Thats a good sign. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/5 "2020-09-28T07:13:01Z")
As with many remakes it doesn’t really capture the wierdness of the [original](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(British_TV_series)). I’ve found it a bit bland, sanitised and shiny in comparison. Not particularly compelling. Not sure where the orginal can currently be seen for free but I think it can be bought on Prime video. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/6 "2020-09-28T09:29:26Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Good to see Rainn Wilson getting acting work again- I feel like he’s been criminally underutilized since The Office ended. Eh? He’s been working pretty steadily since then. Even was the lead in his own show for a season. And his turn as Harry Mudd in _ST:Discovery_ was great. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/7 "2020-09-28T12:37:26Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > As with many remakes it doesn’t really capture the wierdness of the [original](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(British_TV_series)). I’ve found it a bit bland, sanitised and shiny in comparison. Not particularly compelling. Yet another American remake of a British show, eh? Did not know that. What would we Yanks do without the creative minds of the Brits? > [@MrDibble](#): > > Eh? He’s been working pretty steadily since then. Even was the lead in his own show for a season. And his turn as Harry Mudd in _ST:Discovery_ was great. I remember him as a P.I. or something in that show that lasted one season, then I didn’t notice him in anything until now. I assumed the failure of that show derailed his career a bit. Glad to hear he’s been getting steady work. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/8 "2020-09-28T13:17:09Z")
I got up to episode 6 or 7 last night and it started getting a bit cheesy. It started out nice and dark but I hope this cheesiness stops and comes to a good conclusion. I really liked how episode two ended, it gave me hope that this would be good. Still not bad, but I could do without the feral kids getting cute more than once. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/9 "2020-09-28T13:28:57Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Yet another American remake of a British show, eh? Did not know that. What would we Yanks do without the creative minds of the Brits? Creativity has no borders, the odd duff remake (in my opinion) is a small price to pay if it allows the producers to take chances on other original content. Amazon, Netflix et al get a bad rap in many ways but I’ve personally never had so many excellent entertainment choices at my fingertips for very little outlay. It’s all good. I’ve come across remakes that I’ve enjoyed as much, in different ways but they are the exception rather than the rule. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/10 "2020-10-02T21:30:26Z")
Check out “Devs”. He had a major role in that and was great. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/11 "2020-10-02T23:23:10Z")
No he didn’t. That was Nick Offerman. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/12 "2020-10-03T00:44:37Z")
Yeah, I was gonna say, does Smeghead mean Nick Offerman? I was racking my brain for a bit trying to remember if Rainn Wilson might have had some part in Devs where he was unrecognizable. The bum who hung out in Lily’s apartment doorstep? No, that’s not it… ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/13 "2020-10-03T16:08:22Z")
same, seems to get worse and I lost interest about five episodes in ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/14 "2020-10-21T17:11:00Z")
I kept going til the last episode. The ending sucked, in a “not much is resolved and there’s a cliffhanger” sort of way. I don’t expect it to get renewed. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/15 "2020-10-21T17:59:01Z")
Agreed. This could have been a great show if they had just kept it dark and ominous as it obviously was intended to be. I like how John Cusack’s character evolved and the story behind his “children”, but the sappiness killed it for me. Might watch the first episode of season two to see if they get back on track. ---
**Author:** ![Enjoy\_Slurm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enjoy_slurm/32/3937_2.png) [@Enjoy\_Slurm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enjoy_Slurm)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utopia-on-amazon-prime/921670/16 "2020-10-22T05:11:43Z")
I enjoyed it and I hope it gets another season. Though if they wrapped up the story and ended it by end of season 2 I’d be fine with that.