Scholars may wish to look away now. Like a thunderbolt from above, Kaos (Netflix) has been hurled upon us, an eight-part drama that plays rambunctiously fast and loose with Greek myth. In this colourful pick’n’mix reboot – and with apologies for the spoilers – Theseus doesn’t slay the Minotaur, Charon is the ex-boyfriend of Prometheus, Medusa is a mid-level functionary in the underworld, and Eurydice is not that into her rock-star boyfriend Orpheus.
The script’s animating idea is that the gods on Olympus, which resembles JR Ewing’s kitsch holiday villa rental, hold sway not over the ancient world but a modern one with bars and supermarkets and temples looking suspiciously like Christian churches. Then there’s the Underworld, which is in black and white. We enter it after Eurydice, aka Riddy (Aurora Perrineau), ignores the prophecy of Cassandra (Billie Piper), who has somehow fetched up in Krete (an alternative version of contemporary Crete), and gets hit by a truck.
When Zeus takes the form of Jeff Goldblum (Hugh Grant having withdrawn due to scheduling conflicts), we are clearly in the realm of neurotic comedy. This priapic king of deities is fond of clay-shooting and watches TV like a Gogglebox boomer. Poseidon (Cliff Curtis) is a pescatarian in budgie smugglers. Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan) is a flashy airhead who likes fleshpots and fast cars. Only Janet McTeer as Hera, with her retinue of tongueless priestesses and engorging appetite for sex, truly exudes an aura of cruel divinity.