Kaleidoscope: A New View on Shows

As most Netflix watchers have seen, a new show has popped onto the scene of Netflix, grabbing the attention of action fans and film lovers everywhere.  

Kaleidoscope takes place in multiple time frames, going from 25 years in the past to a few weeks after a heist takes place. The show centers around Leo Pap (Giancarlo Esposito) and his team trying to attempt a massive heist, but multiple threats keep them from their goals and blow up their plans. 

Kaleidoscope was released to Netflix on January 1st, 2023. While the show does not have the best reviews, having 2.7 stars on Google Reviews and a 46% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the more interesting idea that came from this show was the style of episodes.  

The series follows a very rare format where you can watch all of the episodes out of order and still understand the story completely. Episodes were released out of chronological order and took place at different times before and after the heist. As a fan of heist shows, and new ways of watching shows, I was amazed with the idea that I could watch a show out of order and yet still understand it like any other show. This style of episodes is something so new and very different from other series like it on Netflix.  

I did find it disappointing when the show did not meet my expectations. This format is a great idea, but the producers and directors rode solely on the unique episode format instead of focusing on the important topic: making a good show.  

While the show did flop, I hope that this idea of out-of-order episode formatting will not be abandoned due to failing on the first try. Hopefully, we’ll be able to see this format stick around and be the base of a much better series.