Channel 4’s Chief Creative Officer Jay Hunt has commissioned Utopia, a brand-new six-part drama series (6 x 60′),  written by Olivier-Award-winning Matilda co-creator and Spooks writer Dennis Kelly.

The drama is described as “a Conspiracy theory turned terrifyingly real.”

Writer Dennis Kelly

When a small group of people find themselves in possession of a manuscript of cult graphic novel Utopia, their lives are knocked out of kilter by explosive events. Targeted by a shadowy organisation known only as The Network, they are left with one option if they want to survive: they have to run.

Rumoured to have predicted the worst disasters of the last century, Utopia is legendary. Dismissed by most, idolised by few, only one thing seems certain: come into contact with it, and you won’t be safe for long.

Never able to return home, our characters’ lives are immediately transformed. Unable to contact anyone on the outside, they live in constant fear of discovery – even though they have no idea why they are being pursued. All they know is that The Network is all-pervasive; in government, in business and in charge. Nobody knows what their plan is, only that they will stop at nothing.

Jay Hunt says: “Utopia is everything you expect from a Channel 4 drama – witty, utterly compelling and impossible to ignore – and I’m delighted that as part of our increased commitment to new drama on the channel, we’re working with one of the UK’s leading writing talents, Dennis Kelly.”

Utopia is directed by Marc Munden (The Mark of Cain, The Crimson Petal and the White), and produced by Kudos Film & TV for Channel 4. The producer is Rebekah Wray-Rogers (This is England ’88) and executive producers are Karen Wilson (Hustle, Spooks), Jane Featherstone (Spooks, Life on Mars, The Hour) and Dennis Kelly.

Utopia goes into production later this year.