Exclusive: C4’s Utopia won’t return for series 3

Sad news, this. After two exhilarating, bold, and eerily beautiful series, it’s been confirmed that Channel 4’s Utopia will not be returning for a third run.

Utopia, from writer Dennis Kelly (Pulling, Matilda: The Musical), who had plans for a third and possibly fourth series of the drama, concluded its second series earlier this year.

The second run was another twisted tale of global conspiracy and dysfunctional family love that opened with an audacious flashback episode directed by Marc Munden that’s sure to top more than a few ‘TV episodes of the year’ lists come December.

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.

A Channel 4 spokesperson told 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.”

A US remake of Kelly’s series, directed by David Fincher, is due to arrive on HBO in 2015.

Read more about Utopia on Den of Geek, here.

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