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Airdate: Utopia

ABC resumes its Wednesday comedy nights next month, led by Working Dog's newest project.

2014-07-30_0004Working Dog’s new comedy series Utopia begins in mid-August as the ABC resumes its Wednesday comedy nights.

More Hollowmen than Frontline, this is set inside the offices of the “Nation Building Authority”, described as a “newly created government organization responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, Utopia explores that moment when bureaucracy and grand dreams collide.”

It stars Rob Sitch, and plenty of faces you will have seen on TEN and ABC shows including Celia Pacquola, Dave Lawson, Luke McGregor, Kitty Flanagan, Anthony ‘Lehmo’ Lehmann, Emma-Louise Wilson, Michelle Lim Davidson and Toby Truslove.

The eight-part series follows the working lives of a tight-knit team in charge of guiding big building schemes from announcement to unveiling. Constant shifts in priorities are the order of the day as the staff are asked to come up with plans for everything from new roads and rail lines to airports and high rise urban developments. In short, Utopia examines the forces that go into creating a very well-designed white elephant.

Utopia is written and produced by the award-winning team of Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch. Michael Hirsh is Executive Producer. Casting by Jane Kennedy. The series is directed by Rob Sitch.

8:30pm Wednesday August 13 ABC.

6 Responses

  1. I used to work in a DVD shop, and believe me, it’s soooooooooooooooooo annoying when they name tv and movies the same thing.

    It was alright for the staff who generally knew what was going on, but the customers didnt a lot of the time.

    Try explaining to 100 idiots a day the different between The Fast and the Furious and Fast and Furious. (yes these are different films)

  2. @Brekkie – The Glee case was a bout a trademark for a number of comedy clubs called The Glee Club. Then the show was launched in the U.K. a comedy show called Glee with a club in it called Glee Club. It was held to infringe.

    Utopia is actually also protected in Australia for some things. Wine for example or stone for example. They will change it’s name for any international sales just like they did with Frontline which was called Behind the Frontline or Breaking News in the U.S. But yes given the U.K show Utopia they should have chosen a different name.

  3. Loved Frontline and enjoyed Hollowmen so will def be watching. This is the sort of thing that the Working Dog team do really well. Wednesdays have suddenly gotten better with Borgen starting tonight at 9:30. They will make a good double.

  4. Looking forward to this, a bit over reality TV atm. Even the Block is a bit ordinary this time around, how many slow mo shots do you need, you almost need to watch fast forward to see it at normal speed…

  5. So we have this ridiculous situation in the UK where “Glee” will have to change it’s name because of a comedy chain called “The Glee Club”, yet in the last couple of years we’ve had:

    Utopia – a British conspiracy thriller
    Utopia – a John Pilger documentary
    Utopia – a reality show now being sold worldwide
    Utopia – a HBO remake of the UK original

    and now

    Utopia – an ABC comedy

    All a bit ridiculous, and surely now TV is an international market it isn’t doing the ABC comedy any favours when they try and sell it internationally.

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