Channel 4’s conspiracy thriller Utopia returns for a second six-part series.
Rose Leslie, Ian McDiarmid and Tom Burke are among the new cast members, joining original cast members Fiona O’Shaughnessy (Jessica Hyde), Alexandra Roach (Becky), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Ian), Adeel Akhtar (Wilson Wilson), Oliver Woollford (Grant), Paul Higgins (Dugdale), Neil Maskell (Arby) and Geraldine James (Milner).
> Order Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.
Episode 1
Monday 14 July 2014, 10pm
In 1974, a young scientific genius Philip Carvel (Tom Burke) meets an idealistic security services agent, Milner (Rose Leslie) at a secret forum of political, industrial, financial and academic leaders. Milner is in charge of a powerful shadowy organisation known only as The Network. Together they hatch a radical plan they believe will save the human race from the horrific ramifications of over-population…
Five years later, in 1979, it’s the winter of discontent and Carvel, tormented by his love for his daughter Jessica (Aine Garvey) and his guilt over what he has done to his son, Pietre (Mason/Harley Rooney), is beginning to lose his mind.
He has made an adjustment to Janus and is refusing to release it to Milner. But a determined Milner refuses to let either political events or Carvel’s impending breakdown get in the way of their goal.
Episode 2
Tuesday 15 July 2014, 10pm
In the present day, Jessica (Fiona O’Shaughnessy) has been held captive by Milner (Geraldine James) who has tortured her in a desperate attempt to find out just what adjustment Carvel made to Janus. Ian (Nathan Stewart Jarrett) and Grant (Oliver Woollford) are desperately searching for Becky (Alexandra Roach).
The Network is planning V Day – a strategy to vaccinate the whole world from Russian flu and Geoff (Alistair Petrie) is being forced to sell the idea to the nation. When Lee (Paul Ready) turns up at Arby’s (Neil Maskell) new house, no one is more surprised to discover he’s alive. But can he force Arby back to his old ways?
Ian finally finds Becky, but she’s with Donaldson (Michael Maloney) and a mysterious hostage named Anton (Ian McDiarmid). When they’re suddenly targeted, a lone gunman is close by to save them – but they are shocked to discover who their rescuer is.
Episode 3
Tueday 22 July 2014, 10pm
The gang are on the run and find a precocious young hacker, who uncovers the key to The Network’s new plan: a real global outbreak of weaponised Russian flu that will prompt the entire world to take up their vaccine on V Day. When Dugdale (Paul Higgins) discovers his colleague has found an unusual protein – Janus – in the vaccine he quickly hands her over to The Network.
Anton’s (Ian McDiarmid) real identity is a mystery, but the pieces start to fit together when they see him sketching comic book-style pictures and equations. Ian (Nathan Stewart Jarrett), framed by the Network for his boss’s death and suspicious of Becky (Alexandra Roach), doesn’t know who to turn to. He phones Milner (Geraldine James) and tells her that Carvel is still alive.
Milner gives up torturing Jessica (Fiona O’Shaughnessy) and prepares to execute her to finally find out what amendment Carvel made to Janus. But Jessica has other plans…
Episode 4
Tuesday 29 July 2014, 10pm
A shocked Dugdale (Paul Higgins) reluctantly agrees to harbour Jessica (Fiona O’Shaughnessy), but who should be scared of who? When Dugdale visits Jen (Ruth Gemmell) and Alice (Emilia Jones) in a secret prison it’s clear he will do whatever The Network asks in order to keep his family alive. Jessica is searching for Ian (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), as is Milner (Geraldine James) who is convinced he will lead her to Carvel.
Having revealed The Network’s plan to Wilson Wilson (Adeel Akhtar), Milner tests his allegiance. With Donaldson (Michael Maloney) missing, Ian and Becky (Alexandra Roach ) try to work out the mystery of Anton’s (Ian McDiarmid ) declaration that they are all going to die. Ian tracks down the news footage while Becky discovers which language Anton is speaking, and finds out more about his dark past.
Meanwhile, Arby (Neil Maskell) has handed Donaldson over to Lee (Paul Ready) in return for Tess and Amanda’s safety. The Network is advancing its mission to release Russian flu on the world as Anton reveals the horrifying adjustment he made to Janus.
Episode 5
Tuesday 5 August 2014, 10pm
Following the revelation that her father is alive, Jessica (Fiona O’Shaughnessy), sets off to find him, with hostage Milner (Geraldine James) in tow.
Meanwhile, Arby (Neil Maskell) has taken Anton (Ian McDiarmid) and Grant (Oliver Woollford) to a remote place from his past. Ian (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) and Becky (Alexandra Roach) want to tell The Network that Janus is racially selective, in the hope of stopping the flu virus from being released. Wilson (Adeel Akhtar) and Leah (Sylvestra Le Touzel) analyse their information and discover the far darker and more terrifying secret it holds.
Dugdale (Paul Higgins) hatches a plan to save Jen (Ruth Gemmell) and Alice (Emilia Jones). Thanks to a phone that Jessica planted in a coat worn by Grant, she finally comes face to face with her father. Carvel reveals the true nature of Janus and confesses the reason why he made it selective – his love for his daughter.
Milner forgives Carvel and, even though she now knows the horrific ramifications of the vaccine, gives the command for the flu virus to be released onto the world regardless. As Wilson begs her to halt the command, Grant takes matters into his own hands. Miles away, a man walks out of his dead-end job and begins the task he has been training for all his life – to release the flu virus that will kill millions.
Episode 6
Tuesday 12 August 2014, 10pm
The gang are holed up in a disused hospital wing, where Arby (Neil Maskell) is recovering from his wounds, protected by Jessica (Fiona O’Shaughnessy). For Ian (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) and Becky (Alexandra Roach) the race is on to find out who is going to release the flu.
They track down Dobri Gorski (David Calder) in a police cell, where he tells them the names of the three people he trained to release the flu. A process of elimination leaves them with Terrence (Steven Robertson), but they still have to find him.
With Milner dead, Wilson (Adeel Akhtar) is alongside them, but his new ruthlessness is unnerving – can they trust him? Meanwhile, Becky is fast running out of Thoraxin, and makes a drastic decision.
> Order Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.
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