Netflix's Heist Series 'Kaleidoscope' Can Be Streamed in Any Order
A non-sequential puzzle.
Netflix has unveiled a new non-sequential show titled Kaleidoscope, an eight-episode anthology series following a crew of masterful thieves who work to unlock a vault for the biggest payday in history. Over the span of 25 years, the thieves devise a plan to make it through the world’s most powerful security team and the FBI. A special feature of the show allows viewers the freedom of choosing which of the eight episodes to start with, which are each coded with their own distinct color.
“Being able to move around and watch different orders gives you a different viewpoint on the characters. There are questions that are going to be asked in one episode that are answered in another episode,” says producer Eric Garcia. “Similarly, there’ll be answers in an episode that you’re watching that you don’t even know are answers to something until you see the question when you watch another episode.”
Able to go on their own unique paths and enter the crime at different moments, viewers connect the dots at their own pace to realize the full story. The order in which they watch may also affect their views of the overall plot.
“We as human beings have a tendency to assume. Our brains are always looking to be one step ahead. Because of that, we start to think about what someone is thinking or where they’re going. This show breaks that convention and helps us to come back to the present and wait for the answer,” says actor Giancarlo Esposito in the trailer.
As for the inspiration behind the show, Garcia tells Tudum that it was loosely based on an event that might have happened.
“After Hurricane Sandy, $70 billion worth of bonds got flooded in the basement of the DTCC, which is a large clearing effort that’s owned by a bunch of the big banks,” he says. “To my mind, I was like, ‘Well, that’s a perfect coverup for a heist!’”
Created by Eric Garcia, the main cast of the show include Giancarlo Esposito, Paz Vega, Rufus Sewell, Tati Gabrielle, and Peter Mark Kendall.
“My first thought was well that’s a great gimmick. Thank god it’s also really well written,” says Sewell.
Kaleidoscope will begin streaming via Netflix on January 1.
Elsewhere in entertainment, here’s everything coming to and leaving HBO Max in December 2022.