Jeff Goldblum is a king, this much we already knew. But in the new Netflix series KAOS, from the creator of The End of the F***ing World, Goldblum becomes the actual King of the Gods, a.k.a. Zeus.
KAOS takes the iconic figures of Greek myth and transports them to modern day, which might sound kind of like Percy Jackson for grown-ups, but based on the teaser, the vibe is more similar to American Gods. The series, which has already debuted in the UK, comes from Charlie Covell, creator of the acclaimed dark comedy The End of the F***ing World.
Goldblum plays a neurotic tracksuit-wearing Zeus who wakes up one morning to discover what he believes is the first sign of his impending demise: a wrinkle on his forehead. As Zeus becomes increasingly paranoid and his fellow gods grow more careless and apathetic, a group of humans begin mobilizing against them.
The series also stars Janet McTeer as Zeus’ wife Hera, David Thewlis as Hades, Cliff Curtis as Poseidon, and Nabhaan Rizwan (Industry) as Dionysus.
Here’s the full synopsis for KAOS, from Netflix:
Zeus has long enjoyed his status as King of The Gods. That is until he wakes up one morning and discovers a wrinkle on his forehead. Neurosis sets in, setting him off on a dangerous, paranoid path. Zeus becomes convinced his fall is coming – and starts to see signs of it everywhere.
Zeus’ once reliable brother, Hades, God of the Underworld, is secretly losing his grip on his dark dominion. There is a backlog of dead waiting to be processed and they are growing restless. Hera (Janet McTeer), Queen of the Gods, exercises dominion on Earth — and over Zeus — in her own unique way. But her power and freedom become threatened by Zeus’ growing paranoia, and she is forced to act, while Zeus’ rebellious son, Dionysus, (Nabhaan Rizwan), is out of control and on course for a cosmic collision with his father.
On Earth people are aching for change, however Poseidon (Cliff Curtis), God of Sea, Storms and Earthquakes (and Horses) is more concerned with the size of his super-yacht and where the next party is at. The wellbeing of mere mortals is of little interest to him. Unfortunately for the Gods some of those mortals are beginning to realise this…
These mortals – Riddy (Aurora Perrineau), Orpheus (Killian Scott), Caneus (Misia Butler) and Ari (Leila Farzad) – come from different walks of life and are all cosmically connected in the battle against Zeus. Each one has a very different role to play, any one of them may be destined to bring down the Gods.
So when the hell can we see KAOS? Netflix hasn’t announced a release date for the eight-episode series just yet, and the teaser on the official Tudum blog says only that it’s “coming soon.” Not soon enough, if you ask me.
(featured image: Netflix)
