Utopia (Australian TV series)

Utopia
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Rob Sitch Santo Cilauro Tom Gleisner
Written by	Rob Sitch Santo Cilauro Tom Gleisner
Directed by	Rob Sitch
Starring	Rob Sitch Celia Pacquola Dave Lawson Luke McGregor Kitty Flanagan Anthony "Lehmo" Lehmann Toby Truslove Emma-Louise Wilson Michelle Lim Davidson
Opening theme	"Volare" by Dean Martin
Country of origin	Australia
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producer(s)	Michael Hirsh
Producer(s)	Rob Sitch Santo Cilauro Tom Gleisner
Location(s)	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Production company(s)	Working Dog Productions
Distributor	Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	13 August 2014 (2014-08-13) – present
External links
Official website
Production website

Utopia, titled Dreamland in the UK, Canada, and US, is a Logie Award-winning Australian television comedy series by Working Dog Productions that premiered on ABC1 on 13 August 2014. The eight-part series follows the working lives of a team in the Nation Building Authority, a newly created government organisation. The Authority is responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, from announcement to unveiling. The series explores the collision between bureaucracy and grand ambitions.^[1] The second series aired in 2015, beginning with the first episode on 19 August 2015.

Background

Utopia is written and produced by three of the founding members of Working Dog Productions: Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner. It is produced by Michael Hirsh, directed by Sitch who also stars as one of the main characters Tony, and casting managed by Jane Kennedy.^[2] When casting, Sitch wanted to have actors that possessed a certain acting style, that appeared as if nothing absurd was going on. Sitch described the series as being about "the currency of grand dreams". He described that the idea of the "Nation Building Authority" was to portray it as one of those things that got set up in a bit of a mad rush and that under all the grand dreams there was a white elephant waiting to appear.^[2] Utopia continues on the satirical themes of other Working Dog works such as Frontline and The Hollowmen. Sitch also noted that the series was more observational than satirical and that it depicted how organisations may or may not function.^[2] When creating the show, Gleisner said the production team spoke to people who worked with government authorities and had experienced for themselves the daily unpredictabilities of working in these environments.^[3]

Characters

• Tony (Rob Sitch) is the boss, and is constantly exasperated by his inability to achieve anything other than meetings and studies and reports. ^[4]
• Nat (Celia Pacquola), is Tony's second in charge. As the only other competent person in the office, she is equally as frustrated as Tony.
• Scott (Dave Lawson) is a nice guy who doesn't actually do much.
• Hugh (Luke McGregor) is Nat's personal assistant, and is constantly reminding her of how difficult it is to do things.
• Rhonda (Kitty Flanagan) is the media manager. She forcefully pushes her narrow agenda, often based on some new fad, despite more important priorities.
• Jim (Anthony "Lehmo" Lehmann) is the government liaison. He is unceasingly positive about new government projects, while being oblivious to the problems and chaos they cause.
• Karsten (Toby Truslove) always has a grand vision and is highly optimistic, and is an ally of Rhonda's.
• Katie (Emma-Louise Wilson) is Tony's personal assistant. She constantly tries to be helpful but is somewhat incompetent.
• Amy (Michelle Lim Davidson) is the office receptionist, who is always positive and chirpy, but is unable to see the big picture.

Plot

The series is set inside the offices of the fictional Nation Building Authority, a newly created government organisation responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects ranging from new roads and rail lines to airports and high rise urban developments. It follows the working lives of a tight-knit team of bureaucrats in charge of guiding big building schemes from announcement to unveiling. Throughout the series grand projects are frustrated by self interest, constant shifts in priorities and bureaucracy.

The series features a number of recurring themes. The office is continually focused on various fads. In one episode, staff become obsessed with exercise after a visit from a Heart Smart representative, practicing communal yoga in the office at regular intervals. In another episode, Amy (Davidson) hires an indoor plant consultant, making major changes to office air conditioning and lighting, after Tony's (Sitch) plant dies and he asks for a replacement.

Rhonda (Flanagan) frequently attends conferences or workshops on various forms of online media. She returns to the office enthusiastically and doggedly drawing priorities away from important projects to superficial online projects.

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

Reception

Anne Pender from The Conversation described Utopia as "light – but sharp and witty" political satire. She praised the talents of the writers and the cast of "exceptional actors". She also noted that it was an improvement from The Speechmaker, a stage show that Sitch and Working Dog Productions put together earlier in 2014.^[21] David Knox from TV Tonight noted the show's similarity to Sitch's previous work, The Hollowmen. In addition to praising the performances of cast members, he opined that the city backdrop of East Melbourne gave the series a "fresh, contemporary feel" accompanied by a "driving percussion soundtrack" and "cityscape montages".^[22]

Netflix purchased the rights to the programme in 2015 to broadcast the first two seasons under the title Dreamland.^[23]

The series has found comparisons to the earlier and more cynical seasons of American workplace comedies The Office and Parks and Recreation. But it builds further on the mold, offering a "painfully funny satire that focuses on the interaction between the media and press friendly projects wanted by government administrations and the disparities it presents to those in the agency who would prefer practicality."^[24]

Awards and nominations

See also

• List of Australian television series
• List of Australian Broadcasting Corporation programs

References

External links

• Website on ABC
• Utopia at the Internet Movie Database