That intricate art, which details the machinations of the sinister Mr. Rabbit and Harvest against heroine Jessica Hyde, is believed on the series to be the work … Created by Gillian Flynn and directed by Toby Haynes, Utopia Season 1 stars Ashleigh LaThrop, Dan Byrd, Jessica Rothe, Desmin Borges, Javon “Wanna” Walton, Sasha Lane, John Cusack, Rainn Wilson, Farrah Mackenzie, Christopher Denham and Cory Michael Smith. The show’s directors (Toby Haynes, Susanna Fogel and J.D. Opening scene of season 1, episode 1 of Channel 4's Utopia. It is rumoured to have predicted the worst disasters of the last century. RELATED: Review: Utopia Is a Comics, Pandemics & Conspiracy Theories, Utopia's series premiere, "Life Begins," effectively uses Ruas' art to introduce viewers to the mythology of Dystopia in twisted fairy tale fashion ("Once upon a time ..."), while also explaining why the unearthing of the unpublished sequel ignites a frenzy among fans, and triggers the blood bath that follows: "If you're smart -- if you're really, really smart -- you  can study it, and decipher all the real-life epidemics it predicted. On Amazon's Utopia, the art of a comic and its newly discovered sequel hols the clues to real-world epidemics. It may be spoilerish, but it’s also justified, I think, to mention that “Utopia” dispenses an unusually high quantity of casual homicide, along with some torture. Amazon's new conspiracy thriller Utopia hinges on the cult comic Dystopia, whose most devoted fans believe predicts any number of real-world epidemics, and the fateful discovery of the original pages from its unpublished sequel. For a show that’s based on a 2013 British series, and has been in the works for years at different networks and with different writers attached, “Utopia” couldn’t feel — on the surface — much more timely. Shop with confidence. That's why we need Utopia. That intricate art, which details the machinations of the sinister Mr. Rabbit and Harvest against heroine Jessica Hyde, is believed on the series to be the work of a mental patient. Amazon's Utopia suffers from premiering in the aftermath of billion-dollar superhero franchises, in a world where comic books are no longer fringe - but sanitized, monetized, and analyzed to death. Gillian Flynn's Utopia is a twisted conspiracy thriller at its core. All the latest gaming news, game reviews and trailers. Add in a disinformation conspiracy fed through social-media boiler rooms and an overall end-of-days atmosphere, and you have 2020 in an eight-episode nutshell. Dillard, so far) keep it moving right along; if it isn’t engaging, neither is it boring. “Utopia” is the latest example, and a fairly elaborate one, of the guessing game as an end in itself — pandemic, conspiracy and doomsday prepping are all fodder for a narrative puzzle that’s only beginning to come into focus as the season ends. He can be found on Twitter at @kevin_melrose, although he seldom tweets, preferring instead to spend his free time researching obscure folklore and raising chickens. They’re accompanied by a grim young woman (Sasha Lane of “American Honey”) who’s a character in the comic and whose father may have written it; they’re pursued by a doughy killer in a windbreaker (Christopher Denham) with ties to a businessman (John Cusack) whose level of evil is a central part of the puzzle. John Cusack plays a businessman at the center of the show’s many mysteries. I mean, why do we keep feeling like it's the end of the fucking world? It’s all a little too familiar. A deadly flu is hopping from one American city to another and the word pandemic is in common use. WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Utopia Season 1, streaming now on Amazon Prime Video. In Utopia, the hidden truths of a comic book world start coming alive, drowning the world in a pandemic and breaking out chaos in some profound, scary ways. 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Slight comic relief is provided by Rainn Wilson as a virologist-patsy whose research is commandeered for use in the big bad conspiracy. A vaccine is being rushed into production. "Ruins" is an American comic written by Warren Ellis. Philadelphia has earned its place as an outlet for these artists and their creations. The quantity, in itself, won’t be a problem for a lot of viewers, but the nature of it — detached, antiseptic, as if an invisible counter were adding up the bodies — has the effect of disengaging you from the story. 1: The Odd Couple Action Caper (Mostly) Hits Its Mark, Star Wars: Marvel Kicks Off the War of the Bounty Hunters With a Bang, Metropolis Grove is a Heartfelt Celebration of Childhood and Friendship, Eve #1 is a Dynamic Start to a Series with Endless Potential, Judge Dredd: False Witness Is Brash and Bold Science-Fiction, Shadowman: The Valiant Hero’s Return Brings Back a POWERFUL God, Star Wars: The OTHER New Shows That Premiered This May the Fourth. Timing, they say, is everything and for Amazon's Utopia, the timing could not be more perfect. Utopia, which is an adaptation of a 2013 British series of the same name, centers on a group of comic book fans who bond online over their obsession with a comic called Utopia… Utopia is the title of both the series, which comes to Prime on Sept. 25, and the comic book at its center. Review: 'Utopia' Is More Graphic Than Comic The US adaptation of a 2013-14 British series about comic book nerds attempting to save the world from …