Kaos (2024)
Drama/Comedy/Fantasy/TV2024 has not been the greatest year (so far) for television in my experience, and I have looked at the rectangle regularly. House of the Dragon was infuriating, Masters of the Air was bland, Fargo seems to have lost its way and while I enjoyed Fallout it was not a game changer. Don’t get me started on Shogun either; while not bad, its structure was awful, just Samurai edging- leaving the viewer feeling like they’d almost seen what they tuned in for every week*.
Kaos' premise and the fact I’d read a positive review meant I put it on with moderately high expectations. Jeff Goldblum as a contemporary Zeus, a petulant god-child who lords it over a modern day, colourful retelling of Greek mythology. Prophecies threaten the status quo and the humans are involved. Love, death, fate, truth and lies are questioned and bickering trickles down from Mount Olympus, through the mortal realm and into the bureaucratic hell of the underworld.
Classical studies at school was my favourite subject- basically just reading (and writing!) mythical stories. Fuck Latin, a dead language, and subject which when forced to partake in we spent our time playing games of self harm with weaponised coins and our compasses from maths. One of my friends used to like chewing ink cartridges, but that wasn’t exclusive to Latin.
Latin is just etymology for Catholics.
Kaos’s diverse cast, and I mean that, the show has an admirable devotion to casting LGBTQ+ and handicapped actors, lends to the quirky and off kilter feel of its lore. Leads Stephen Dillane, Janet McTeer, Aurora Perrineau and Nabhaan Rizwan are all excellent. Rizwan is lovably lively as demigod Dionysis. You won’t be surprised to learn that Jeff Goldblum is the show stealer, though. His Zeus is an insecure bully, who bounces between acts of extreme violence and sheer infancy.
There are too many great performances to list, I just picked out the main ones. It’s that good. The music, the visuals, the glorious stench of myth, brutality and unpredictability make Kaos something not bettered this year on TV (Netflix). If you believe prophecy nothing is in your control, ever, except watching Kaos.
I remembered to forget Greek mythology in order to enjoy Kaos further, just to avoid spoilers. I suggest you do the same. The competition for the most problematic God ever is a tough one, but at least Kaos makes it fun.
If Baz Luhrman and Virgil collaborated, Kaos might well be their beautiful baby. So much depth in an astonishing, beautiful and engaging retelling of Greek mythology. The second series can’t come soon enough. 10/10
*But apparently the people who award the Emmys love that porn subgenre.
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