EXCLUSIVE

A contestant on the new FOX reality show "Utopia" has already managed to get herself kicked off... BEFORE cameras start rolling.

FOX and Talpa (the production co.) producers say Andrea Cox did not enter the "Utopia" with the other 14 competitors today ... "due to violation of production policies. Replacement details will be announced." The show began Friday afternoon on a livestream.

Production sources tell us Cox recently figured out a way to contact other contestants -- known as "pioneers" on the show -- during a period when they were all supposed to be sequestered from each other.

The show features 15 "pioneers" who have to reboot their own society from scratch on a private piece of land, and they have a full year to do it. The TV debut is Sept. 7 on FOX.

Cox can watch from home.