Amazon cancels Utopia after one season
Utopia John Cusack CR: Elizabeth Morris/Amazon Studios
Amazon has canceled Gillian Flynn's sci-fi drama Utopia after a single season, EW has confirmed.
The series, which premiered Sept. 25 on Amazon Prime Video, was centered on a group of teenagers who discover that a comic book could be the key to saving the world.
In the show, Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Ian (Dan Byrd), Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Wilson Wilson (Desmin Borges), and Grant (Javon "Wanna" Walton) unearth hidden meanings cloaked within the pages of Utopia, predicting threats to humanity. They soon realize these aren't just the makings of a conspiracy — there are very real dangers coming alive right now in their world. The group embarks on a high-stakes adventure, bringing them face-to-face with the comic's famed central character, Jessica Hyde (Sasha Lane), who joins them on their mission to save the world while harboring secrets of her own.
The eight-episode run also starred John Cusack as Dr. Kevin Christie in his first series regular role for television, and Rainn Wilson as Dr. Michael Stearns.
Utopia was based on the 2013 British series of the same name, and Flynn, who wrote and executive-produced the show, told EW that she wanted her version to be "bumpy, dirty, raw real." One change in the American edition was the addition of Dr. Christie, a tech billionaire whose new fake-meat product might have something to do with the pandemic Stearns is obsessing over.
During the cast panel for New York Comic-Con, Flynn (an EW alum) teased ideas for the now axed second season, which included digging into whether Jessica's beloved father wasn't exactly who she imagined him to be.
"So Dad's got some explaining to do, number one. I'm hoping for a season 2, and I already know the entire backstory of what that is," she said. "I think there's a lot of fun to be had. Whereas in season 1 her dad is a mythological creature, like all dads he is just human and has his issues."
News of the cancellation comes days after Amazon renewed The Expanse for a sixth and final season, so that fans could get "the satisfying conclusion to the series that they deserve."
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