Kaos Review – Jeff Goldblum’s Ridiculously Fun Greek God Drama Is a Masterpiece | Drama

Iaos, the new venture from Charlie Covell, creator of the Channel 4 drama series The End of the F**king World, is anything but chaotic. It’s a multi-stranded, impeccably paced and plotted reimagining of Greek mythology that’s subtle and intricate, witty, rigorous, hugely intelligent, funny and brutal. It flies.

Covell’s script is a masterpiece – so assured, so seemingly effortless, so light on its feet – as it constructs an alternate modern world in which pantheism (and Zeus) still reigns, and gods mingle with mortals, rarely for good causes. The eight episodes are packed with action, jokes (however darker the events get as we go along), and graceful tones. A huge cast of characters is deployed without any feeling underdeveloped or superfluous, Covell using them to interrogate what it means to be human, to have power, to be desperate, to have or not have free will. They’re all seamlessly woven together in a ferociously fun embrace.

I can’t give you a better—or certainly no shorter—indication of the overall tone of the story than to say that Jeff Goldblum plays Zeus. White-suited and debonair, he saunters happily around his sprawling palace and gardens on Mount Olympus until the day a new monument to him is publicly unveiled in Crete, only to be desecrated by a band of Trojans. Then he discovers a new wrinkle on his forehead that he decides must be the fulfillment of the first part of a prophecy that will see his reign end and chaos reign in its place. All of his neuroses and insecurities begin to flare up (to such an extent that within a few episodes it feels like quite a departure in his vulnerability for Goldblum, best known for roles predicated on impregnable cool) as he plots revenge on humanity. His wife, queen (and sister, as an asterisked on-screen caption indicates) Hera – the suitably masterful Janet McTeer – tries to encourage him to maintain his dignity and ignore the punishments and investigation.

The initially unseen narrator of events turns out to be Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) – former friend, current prisoner (chained to a rock, liver pecked by an eagle for eternity, it’s all coming back to you now) and immortal enemy of Zeus. He’s doing his best to fulfill the prophecy as quickly as possible, aided by various unwitting Earth folk and underworld denizens. This is overseen by David Thewlis as Hades, which would have been an equally good way to get you into the swing of things, come to think of it.

Eurydice, better known as Riddy (Aurora Perrineau), is on the verge of breaking up with her devoted rock star boyfriend Orpheus (Killian Scott) when she’s killed in a car crash and finds herself on a literal ferry across the Styx. With the help (or hindrance – the god of pleasure is something of a minor chaos merchant himself) of Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan), Orpheus sets out to retrieve her from the underworld, via a series of heart-wrenching scenes that see the couple searching for their dead son. Such moments are sprinkled throughout the series, at times in danger of being read as a casual escapade, reminding us that the myths of old deal in hard, eternal truths, and also making us chuckle as gods and mortals make out and turn into bees for their trouble. While Orpheus fights to reach his beloved, however, she is busy forging a bond with Caneus (Misia Butler) and discovering even worse things about their new home than you could imagine for the underworld.

There’s much, much more to unfold, ready to be woven together in the fullness of time by Covell’s capable hands. Ariadne (Leila Farzad) reveals the betrayal of her father, Minos, while Daedalus (Mat Fraser) nurses something of a monstrous demeanor down into some kind of… labyrinthine prison beneath their palace. Billie Piper plays Cassandra, nearly destroyed by the burden of being forever ignored and disbelieved. Medusa (Debi Mazar) waits in the wings (“The Medusa?” asks a newcomer to the underworld with celebrity awe. She produces a snake from beneath her headdress to prove it. The fan raves), and there’s just about everyone you’d find in a classical education and/or a children’s book of myths and legends.

Love stories tumble over betrayal as scenes dance on the edge of comedy/tragedy (just ask Zeus’ ball boys) and the Fates and Furies split the wheels of men and deities. You don’t know exactly what the next twist or turn will be, but you know it’s going to be funny, deep, moving – or all three – and also as compelling and rewarding as you could ever hope for. It’s an absolute triumph – thank Covell and the gods.