TV

Watch Rainn Wilson and John Cusack tackle a pandemic in Utopia trailer

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Published on August 18, 2020 11:00AM EDT

The first official trailer for Amazon Prime Video's Utopia sets up a world plagued by panic, conspiracies, and a pandemic — sound familiar?

But the series comes with a twist, in that a comic book may be the key to saving the world. In the new show, from Sharp Objects and Gone Girl writer Gillian Flynn, a group of young fans meet and obsess over a seemingly fictional comic called Utopia.

Together, Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Ian (Dan Byrd), Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Wilson Wilson (Desmin Borges), and Grant (Javon “Wanna” Walton) unearth hidden meanings cloaked within the pages of Utopia, predicting threats to humanity. They soon realize these aren't just the makings of a conspiracy; there are very real dangers coming alive right now in their world. The group embarks on a high-stakes adventure, bringing them face-to-face with the comic’s famed central character, Jessica Hyde (Sasha Lane), who joins them on their mission to save the world while harboring secrets of her own.

The eight-part series also stars John Cusack as Dr. Kevin Christie in his first series regular role for television, and Rainn Wilson as Dr. Michael Stearns (who will hopefully be more useful in a pandemic than Dwight Schrute). Farrah Mackenzie is featured as Alice, Christopher Denham as Arby, and Cory Michael Smith as Thomas Christie.

Utopia is based on the 2013 British series of the same name, although there are some changes to the American version, which is written and executive produced by Flynn. One of those changes is the addition of Dr. Christie, a tech billionaire whose new fake-meat product may have something to do with the pandemic that Stearns is obsessing over.

Flynn previously spoke to EW — her old stomping grounds — about how her Utopia will be different.

“How do I make this new?” Flynn said she asked herself. “I’m a huge fan of all those conspiracy thrillers that came out after Watergate. All of [the British Utopia] plays very sleekly. I wanted mine to play bumpy, dirty, raw, real — like you’re walking on the gum on the sidewalk and smelling the garbage in the alley.”

Utopia premieres Sept. 25 on Amazon Prime Video.

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