Netflix’s Kaleidoscope wants you to take part in its thrilling nonlinear heist plot
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The official trailer for Netflix’s Kaleidoscope has landed online – and the streamer wants you to solve the dramatic heist puzzle as part of the fun.
Kaleidoscope’s latest teaser, which you can watch below, provides more context on the plot of the upcoming Netflix series. However, the most compelling aspect of the crime thriller is how it actively recruits viewers to participate in the story, prompting audiences to work out the wider mystery before reaching the series finale.
First, watch the official Kaleidoscope trailer:
Looks nice right? Well, that’s just the beginning.
How so? Because not only does Kaleidoscope want you to take an active part in solving the mystery behind the robbery itself, but you’ll also have to figure out how and why it happened in a unique, non-linear sequence.
You see, Kaleidoscope isn’t your traditional crime show. When the show launches on January 1, 2023, anyone who loads it will be assigned all eight episodes — set anywhere between 25 years before the heist and six months after — in a random order. The one thing every viewer has in common is that the White episode (aka the day of the robbery itself) is the last to everybody will stream.
Here’s a brief overview of Kaleidoscope’s episodes. Keep in mind that this isn’t the exact order you’ll be viewing them in. Some of you start with Red, others start with Violet, and so on:
- Violet: 24 years before the robbery
- Green: 7 years before the robbery
- Yellow: 6 weeks before the robbery
- Orange: 3 weeks before the robbery
- Blue: 5 days before the robbery
- Red: the morning after the robbery
- Pink: 6 months later
- White: The Heist, also known as the epic story finale
Your job will then be to find out what happens during the heist, why certain characters make the decisions they make as it plays out, and which individuals (if any) end up betraying their crewmates based on what you see in the other episodes. All the clues are given in the show’s other entries, so Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot wannabees will have to pay close attention to what’s shown on screen, every line of dialogue spoken, and more.
We previously suggested that Kaleidoscope was an ambitious TV experiment for Netflix to conduct, and the show’s latest teaser only reinforces our opinion on that front. We suspect Kaleidoscope won’t take long to make it onto our list of best Netflix shows and based on what we’ve seen, we think there will be plenty of crime thrillers and heist-based enthusiasts out there wanting to check it out.
Need more context on the plot? Don’t worry, Netflix has you covered.
Spanning 25 years, Kaleidoscope (formerly titled Jigsaw) is an all-new anthology series that follows a group of master thieves and their attempt to crack a seemingly unbreakable safe for the biggest payday in history,” reads the series’ official synopsis. .
Loosely inspired by the true story in which $70 billion in bonds went missing in midtown Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy, Kaleidoscope consists of eight episodes spanning 24 years before the robbery to 6 months after.
“The riveting crime anthology series takes a non-linear approach to storytelling and uniquely builds intrigue and suspense, with Netflix members each having a different immersive viewing experience. All viewers will eventually see all episodes, but the order in which they Watching episodes will affect their view of the story, the characters, and the questions and answers at the heart of the heist. How do you experience the colors of Kaleidoscope?”
Kaleidoscope stars Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian season 3, Breaking Bad), Jai Courteney (The Suicide Squad), Paz Vega (Rambo: Last Blood), Rufus Sewell (Old), Tati Gabrielle (Uncharted, You) and Peter Mark Kendall ( the Americans, among others. Eric Garcia serves as showrunner, while Russell Fine and Everardo Gout are among the many directors.
We’ll be bringing you even more Kaleidoscope coverage on and around launch day, so stick with TechRadar for our take on the show, plus our exclusive chat with the cast.
Here’s that all-important release date again: Kaleidoscope lands on Netflix worldwide on January 1, 2023.