Critics weren’t kind enough to the first season of ‘Utopia Falls’, can a second season redeem the show? Let’s take a look!
The hardcore fans of the Hulu science-fiction comedy ‘Utopia Falls’ have been flooding the makers with requests regarding the return of the series for a second season. While the slow response to the first season of ‘Utopia Falls’ is a solid reason for the makers to shy away from making an official announcement, the fans’ petition on change.org is a clear sign that the series was not as much of a failure as it was touted. While the critical ratings of the show did plummet as the series progressed in its first season, there are some defining qualities that keep the fans asking for more.
Highlights —
- Is season 1 of ‘Utopia Falls’ underrated?
- Will the fans petition demanding season 2 work?
- What can the makers learn from the critical failure of the first season?
‘Utopia Falls’ premiered in February 2020 with Robyn Alomar portraying the lead role as an Exemplar Candidate from Progress Sector, named Aliyah 5. We are right away introduced to the futuristic world, where nothing is immediately comprehensible. The world has been divided into four segments, with separate uniforms assigned for each sector. A colony of futuristic humans lives in a city under a dome, in order to safeguard them from a war that threatens to kill the entire humanity. An art competition is held among the newly turned 16-year-olds from all sectors.
Things go haywire when a small group of contestants discover some historical and cultural relics that had been hidden away from them. The nature of their government is somehow revealed to them and they deduct that something more sinister is going on under the garb of protecting the citizens from the disastrous impact of the war.
Why some people didn’t like ‘Utopia Falls’ as much?
Now, the premise doesn’t seem very original and we have seen it countless of times already. Many science fiction films have taken on this premise quite a lot of times. But, then again, no story is original and its merit lies in the treatment. And, with ‘Utopia Falls’, the treatment is what makes it unique. The ‘rebel’ kids using creative dancing to “fight the system”. The hip-hop vibe of the series does make for a compelling and entertaining watch. Music plays an instrumental part in the story and the mystery element combined with electric dance performances and some foot-tapping music is a bonus treat to the senses.
What further helps the cause of season 2 of ‘Utopia Falls’ is the fact that the cast comprising of mostly unknown actors such as Akiel Julien, Robbie Kuntz, and Devyn Nekoda among others have shown potential. The story does take a few episodes to pick up and achieve a good pace, but it appears that the cliché-ridden and stereotypical first couple of episodes did great harm to the prospect of the show getting more eyeballs. However, the genre-bending concept of the show feeds on the amazing chemistry between the leading star-cast which makes the show absolutely worth watching.
Will season 2 of ‘Utopia Falls’ ever happen?
The fate of season 2 of ‘Utopia Falls’ is not clear as of yet, but going by the strong fan petitions, it can’t be denied that there is some chance of the series getting renewed for the second season. Also, the story has the potential of expanding furthermore. Now that we are talking about it, let’s take a look at what could be different a second time around.
What the makers can improve in season 2 of ‘Utopia Falls’?
The writing and the production design seemed rushed in the first season. The writers need to focus more on production design. After all, all four sectors have been designed to look very small. Are there more than 100 people living in the world of ‘Utopia Falls’? If yes, then the makers need to focus more on that aspect of the story to effectively build the world.
While the series did a great job of making it look like a teen drama with a science-fiction mystery twist, they need to make the actors emote more and let the audience in into their psyches. It’s one thing to keep things subtle and edgy, and it’s completely another ball-game to keep the audience intrigued using the right acting tropes at the right time.
While there already are petitions demanding the second season of ‘Utopia Falls’, we would like you to write in the comment section whether you think the first season lived up to the expectations and whether the petitions are justified?
