According to Kaos, Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) is a mean-spirited and capricious God, who indulges his whims without consideration for the collateral damage. Killing his home help like a petulant child being denied ice cream, this literal God almighty is going through a mid-life crisis. No one is playing by his divine rules and humanity have lost faith. His wife Hera (Janet McTeer) is also keeping it in the family by bedding Zeus’ brother Poseidon (Stephen Dillane), while his son Dionysius (Nabhaan Rizwan) floats around resenting his father’s indifference. Coupled with the continuous torture of Prometheus, who is chained to a rock and has his liver pecked out daily, this God amongst men is running out of allies. This might seem like a heady mix for some seismic drama under normal circumstances, and yet this Netflix original somehow lacks the emotional heft audiences might expect from something so mythical.
Despite journeys down into the Underworld, where Hades (David Thewlis) is hiding, Kaos rarely feels like essential viewing. As much as creator Charlie Covell (The End of the F***ing World) does an awesome job breaking down Greek mythology into bite sized chunks, this ancient Succession lacks stakes. Now some audiences might disagree, since an inherent knowledge of the classics is only going to make Kaos better, but for anyone wandering into Kaos completely clueless, this might be more of a struggle. Performances across the board from Goldblum and his cohorts are effortless, and there is no denying how much fun everyone is having. Unfortunately, this fun factor does not translate into drama that encourages audiences to emotionally invest.
There is an overwhelming sense that Kaos should come with some study aids, including Cliff Notes or their York based counterparts, depending on your side of the Atlantic. Those quibbles aside, there is something to be said for the ambition of Kaos, since Charlie Covell takes a subject most university students actively avoid and delivers a complex series. One that might feel like an extended and comprehensive lecture on Greek myths, but one that will no doubt find its own fanbase in years to come. For audiences who are happy to put in some heavy lifting, brush up on their mythology, and open themselves up to the possibility of a series that is slavishly faithful to the text – then Kaos might just work. For anyone else going in blind, might we suggest a little light reading in preparation, or at the very least a spider plan to explain how everyone here is vaguely related.
Kaos is streaming on Netflix now.