Kaos: Oh My Zeus!

An ancient prophecy connects three humans that could possibly bring down the corrupt and arrogant gods of Mount Olympus. Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) is an all-powerful being living reigning over his people, when he begins to notice things that may indicate the prophecy is coming true and the end of his regime, possibly the world at least as he knows it.  Meanwhile, the island of Krete is preparing for Olympia Day a big celebration honoring the Gods.  But the Trojans have snuck in and defiled the monument to Zeus, further enraging him.  Eurydice “Riddy” (Aurora Perrineau) begins to realize that she no longer loves her famous musician husband, Orpheus (Killian Scott) who is playing a concert in honor of Olympia Day.  Orpheus loves Riddy deeply and his new song is named after her, but before she can leave him, tragedy strikes.  Dionysus, wanting to impress his father and become more than just the god of partying, sees a chance to help Orpheus concluding the first episode of this new series.

Kaos is a British mythological modernization dark-comedy series created by Charlie Covell.  All eight episodes were released at the same time on August 29, 2024 on Netflix.  The series was filmed mostly in Spain and Italy. Zeus is played by Jeff Goldblum, but was originally cast with Hugh Grant, but the actor had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts and Goldblum stepped in.  The series takes place in an alternate reality where the Greek mythology is real and happening in a modern world.

As a fan of several different mythological pantheons, but especially Greek, I was very much looking forward to this series, and I was not disappointed by the first episode. Although I do want to say, it isn’t perfect, but it is entertaining and well produced. This is not the type of modern retelling where different characters are used in place of the well-known mythological characters and the plot mirrors that of the myths of old.  Nor is this a show that takes the Greek gods and plops them into modern times.  This is a story, where we are seeing the very people, the myths are about and watching them experience their story for the first time, but just in a modern setting.  Kind of like how many theatrical stage companies perform Shakespeare now, the script remains the same, but the locale and time period changes. I very much enjoyed this aspect of the film and also how when each new character is introduced, we get an onscreen stylized visual of who they are.  In addition, the story is narrated by one of my favorite characters of all time, Prometheus (Stephen Dillane), who not only serves as the narrator, but also as Zeus’ friend and confidant. The writing is very good, but a bit crude in its vernacular with lots of swearing.  I was impressed with most of the cast especially Aurora Perrineau as Riddy, she convincingly conveyed the very conflict that she was feeling inside in a very believable performance.  I am excited to see other characters come to life as the series progresses.  The one person I wasn’t real fond of, was Jeff Goldblum’s Zeus.  The character is supposed to be a bit neurotic and arrogant, and Jeff accomplishes both those things, but he does that as Jeff Goldblum, I feel like this is the same performance we get in nearly every movie he is in.  I would have liked to have seen Hugh Grant in the role, but I am not sure he has the stature and commanding presence that Zeus demands.  There are other actors I feel could have given us a more unique Zeus and still kept the dark humor intact.  That being said, this is a small issue I personally had and did not detract much from the overall enjoyment of the program.