Kaos review: comic retelling of Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum
The new series captures audiences as it 'never takes itself too seriously'
From video games to novels to musical theatre, "revisionist retellings of ancient Greek myths have been having something of a moment lately", said Louis Chilton in The Independent. But few have been as punchy as Netflix's "Kaos", from the British writer Charlie Covell, who is best known for Channel 4's "The End of the F***ing World".
Billed as a "Succession"- or "White Lotus"-flavoured take on the gods of Olympus, it stars Jeff Goldblum as Zeus, depicted here as a neurotic, leisurewear-clad billionaire. He's first seen "mincing discontentedly through his pink mountain-top shag pad", said Camilla Long in The Sunday Times. The designers turn out to have had "Barbie levels of fun" throughout. Zeus's spotting of a wrinkle on his forehead triggers a midlife crisis and a complicated plot featuring versions of Cassandra (Billie Piper), Hades (David Thewlis), Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) and others. Structured as a sour comedy of manners rather than a fantasy, it's "engrossing, imaginative and fun".
The series is perhaps an episode or two too long, but what's great about this "enjoyably unusual" show is that it "never takes itself too seriously", said Carol Midgely in The Times: the Underworld here resembles "a drab multistorey car park at an Amazon warehouse". After a while, you start to wonder if the ancient gods aren't so remote from today's "brat billionaires, using the world as their whimsical plaything". Wouldn't, "say, Elon Musk secretly love to chain Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg to a rock and have an eagle peck out their livers every day?"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How to financially prepare for divorceThe Explainer Facing ‘irreconcilable differences’ does not have to be financially devastating
-
Why it’s important to shop around for a mortgage and what to look forThe Explainer You can save big by comparing different mortgage offers
-
4 ways to save on rising health care costsThe Explainer Health care expenses are part of an overall increase in the cost of living for Americans
-
The best food books of 2025The Week Recommends From mouthwatering recipes to insightful essays, these colourful books will both inspire and entertain
-
Art that made the news in 2025The Explainer From a short-lived Banksy mural to an Egyptian statue dating back three millennia
-
Nine best TV shows of the yearThe Week Recommends From Adolescence to Amandaland
-
Winter holidays in the snow and sunThe Week Recommends Escape the dark, cold days with the perfect getaway
-
The best homes of the yearFeature Featuring a former helicopter engine repair workshop in Washington, D.C. and high-rise living in San Francisco
-
Critics’ choice: The year’s top 10 moviesFeature ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘It Was Just an Accident’ stand out
-
A luxury walking tour in Western AustraliaThe Week Recommends Walk through an ‘ancient forest’ and listen to the ‘gentle hushing’ of the upper canopy
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s WifeIn the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women