Netflix is gearing up for the release of its new starry heist drama Kaleidoscope and a new trailer introduces the crew and the daunting job ahead of them. The non-linear series follows a group of master thieves and their attempts to crack a seemingly unbreakable vault for an unprecedented payday. Each episode contributes something different to the story, adding more background as viewers watch. A web of corruption, greed, vengeance, scheming, loyalties, and betrayals slowly forms as viewers piece together the plan, how the thieves executed it, and who among the group is actually acting in good faith.
The trailer kicks off with a display of the thieves’ prowess as they set off a number of small explosives in trash cans in the city as a diversion while they rob a jewelry store. We then get a look at their target – the most secure vault in the world that’s seemingly everything-proofed. Inside is an unfathomable score of around $7 billion, but it’s stuck behind biometric scanners, an unassailable power supply, and a small army of armed guards with permission to employ lethal force. Despite everything, these thieves are up to the task, but it’s more than just a simple heist for some of them. A few glimpses of their pasts are shown, including that of the mastermind Leo Pap (Giancarlo Esposito). He was part of a job with the vault’s owner, corporate security mogul Robert Salas (Rufus Sewell) when Salas left him for dead, made off with the cash, and “reformed” himself into a publicly trustworthy, manipulative corporate titan. Now, Leo wants to get revenge, and he has faith that this new crew, even with their own ambitions, will lead him straight to that payday.
Kaleidoscope is a bit of an experimental series for Netflix considering episodes can be watched in any order leading up to the epic conclusion with the heist itself. The story spans 25 years with individual episodes covering different periods of time within the thieves’ lives ranging from 24 years before the heist goes down to six months after. The trailer gives some hints as to how certain episodes play out like how the pasts of Salas and Pap connect, but the experience will be different depending on what order viewers watch them in. “When you watch Kaleidoscope, all the information is there to be able to connect the dots and know the story,” executive producer Russell Fine said of the series to Tudum. Series creator Eric Garcia also emphasized how the viewing order can alter how characters are perceived, adding “Being able to enter into [the story] at different times, move around and watch in different orders gives you a different viewpoint on the characters.”
Everything We Know About Kaleidoscope
Esposito plays a protagonist for once, leading a cast that features Tati Gabrielle, Paz Vega, Rosaline Elbay, Niousha Noor, John Hans Tester, Stacey Oristano, Jordan Mendoza, Soojeong Son, and Hemky Madera among others. Garcia also wrote, and executive produced Kaleidoscope. As incredible a concept as the series is, Garcia based it on a real occurrence, though not necessarily a heist. He told Tudum:
It’s loosely based on something that might have happened. After Hurricane Sandy, 70 billion dollars 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. To my mind, I was like, ‘Well, that’s a perfect coverup for a heist!’
Kaleidoscope weaves its tale on January 1 on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.
via Collider