Television series

Kaos

Name: Kaos
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Fantasy
Released: 2024
Cast: Aurora Perrineau, Jeff Goldblum, Janet McTeer, Killian Scott, Nabhaan Rizwan

Other titles called Kaos: the 1984 film.

Mythological fantasy

Kaos drops you into a scuzzy, gossip-ridden Mount Olympus where Jeff Goldblum's Zeus is having a full midlife crisis over a wrinkle. It's Greek myth rewired as prestige-comedy soap opera, all petty gods, doomed mortals and prophecy anxiety, played with dry wit and real dread underneath. Good for anyone who wants their mythology sardonic, sexy and slightly unhinged rather than reverent.

TVMaze rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like irreverent myth retold as a sharp, mean-spirited comedy, where gods bicker like exhausted office managers and the satire lands harder than the sincere drama.

Skip it if you want the myths handled with reverence or a steady, serious tone, since the jokes come fast and the mockery of divine vanity rarely lets up for long.

What it asks of you: Eight episodes of roughly fifty minutes each, so it moves in brisk bursts, and it wants you to keep up with several threads at once while accepting a tonal swerve every few scenes.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

American Gods2017

Old deities scraping by in a modern world that's stopped believing in them — the same idea of gods as flawed, insecure, very human power players, just swapped from Olympus to a roadside diner.

But It's denser and more visually indulgent, and the plot wanders more than it resolves.

Good Omens2019

Cosmic bureaucracy played for laughs, with immortal beings bickering about the end of the world like exhausted middle managers. Same comic register as Kaos, warmer and gentler underneath.

But Its whimsy is softer and less barbed — don't expect Kaos's undertow of menace.

Succession2018

No gods here, just a monstrous patriarch convinced he's untouchable, surrounded by people plotting his fall. The paranoid-tyrant-in-decline energy of Zeus, transplanted to a media empire.

But Zero fantasy, zero jokes about prophecy — this is realism, and considerably crueler.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Kaos

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Jason and the Argonauts1963

Same pantheon, same plot engine of gods manipulating doomed mortals toward prophecy — Kaos's cynicism has a direct ancestor here, just rendered with wonder instead of irony.

The granddaddy of modern Greek myth adaptations, with Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion gods and monsters still uncannily beautiful sixty years on. See where this whole lineage of squabbling, meddling Olympians on screen actually started.

But Creaky pacing and dated effects by modern standards — patience for old-school craft required.

The Boys2019

Superheroes as corrupt, image-obsessed demigods who believe their own myth — basically Olympus with capes, and just as willing to skewer its own pantheon.

But Far more violent and gleefully vulgar than Kaos ever gets.

The Righteous Gemstones2019

A grotesque, funny, weirdly moving portrait of a powerful family rotting from the inside, presided over by a father who thinks he's chosen. Kaos's dysfunction, evangelical flavor.

But Broader, more slapstick comedy — subtler ironies of Kaos aren't really the point here.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians2023

The same Greek pantheon, told straight and family-friendly, if you want to see the mythology played earnestly instead of ironically after Kaos's cynicism wears you out.

But Aimed squarely at kids and teens — none of Kaos's adult wit or menace.

Troy2004

Big, glossy, star-studded Greek myth spectacle for anyone who wants the same world played as sweeping tragedy rather than dark comedy — gods, fate and doomed mortals, minus the jokes.

But It flattens the gods almost entirely to focus on human heroics — a very different emphasis.

Hercules1997

Disney's cheerfully irreverent, gospel-choir-narrated take on the same Olympus, proof that treating these gods as bickering celebrities isn't a new idea — just usually pitched at kids.

But Featherlight and family-safe; none of Kaos's bite, dread or adult themes.

Clash of the Titans1981

A punchier, more action-driven trip through the same mythology — prophecy, hubris, gods meddling in mortal affairs — if you want spectacle over satire for one evening.

But Critically maligned for a reason; it's loud, silly, and thin where Kaos has depth.

Medea1969

Same mythological well as Kaos — fate, betrayal, vengeful gods — but played entirely straight and tragic, showing how brutal this material is once you remove the jokes.

Pasolini's stark, ritualistic film strips Greek myth of all comedy and spectacle, leaving something raw, ancient and genuinely frightening. Maria Callas, barely speaking, is devastating.

But Slow, austere, subtitled, and completely without humor — a real tonal gear-change.

Xena: Warrior Princess1995

Petty, vain, easily-manipulated gods getting outmaneuvered by clever humans is Kaos's whole premise, just filtered through pulpy 90s adventure TV instead of prestige dramedy.

Cheap, campy, wildly entertaining 90s syndication fantasy where Greek gods show up constantly to meddle, scheme and get thoroughly outwitted by mortals who really should be more afraid of them.

But Low budget, broad acting, tonally goofy — this is trash television, unapologetically.