Since its release in August, millions of curious watchers settled down to indulge themselves in the new mythological drama, Kaos. It materialised seemingly out of nowhere, featuring high-profile names like Jeff Goldblum, Janet McTeer, David Thewlis, and Billie Piper. But despite it reaching number three on Netflix’s “most popular shows” soon after its release, the show was cancelled after one season earlier this month, much to the outrage of the general public.
Kaos, a black comedy released on the 29th August 2024, is a modern adaptation of the lives of the immortals living lavishly on Mount Olympus, and the mortals who must suffer under their reign. The show focuses on the lives of three mortals, Eurydice, Ariadne, and Caeneus, who are all bound by the same prophecy allocated to them at birth: “A line appears, the order wanes, the family falls and kaos reigns.” The show was refreshingly original; tense, entertaining, with well-known mythological characters forged creatively into their modern day counter-parts played by experienced performers, plus a killer soundtrack to boot.
So why was it so swiftly swept under the rug? One of the issues perhaps, is Netflix’s seemingly selective advertising schemes. Prior to its release, Kaos, was sparingly advertised, until it suddenly appeared on Netflix users’ home pages. But why was it so poorly marketed? Charlie Covell, the show’s creator, is known for previous Netflix collaborations – most notably the hit show The End of the F***ing World, a similarly gallows humour show that was equally innovative. Surely given Covell’s acclaim as a director, plus the ludicrously star-studded cast, Kaos should have been Netflix’s new pride and joy. So why so little pride in promoting it to viewers? And inevitably, once the show’s views started to slowly trickle down, Netflix took a back seat and let the wildfire burn, without feeling the need to be proactive and promote it to save the show. And finally, not long after the release of the show, Netflix caved and declared Kaos as well and truly axed.
Of course, it’s understandable why they couldn’t continue funding later seasons of the show. It’s clearly a big budget production. But Netflix takes so little consideration for their more original, creative shows and instead mass-produces multiple season shows that have little substance and could have ended nice and neatly three seasons ago. And it’s getting old.
“Jeff Goldblum” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.