Kaleidoscope Netflix

With 'Kaleidoscope,' Netflix is trying to take advantage of the streaming model, but stumbles with the follow-through.

They are certainly exciting, but after seven episodes of build-up — including two that take place after the events of the heist — it’s not enough of a reward for the emotional investment viewers put into these characters. How enticing could the heist be if the viewers know how it all ends? There are plot points that “click” together like the jigsaw of the working title, but it’s often more of an “oh, I see,” than an “a-ha!” moment. But while the format is intriguing, it’s not the case for another upheaval of how we watch TV. While the first seven episodes appear in different orders, the finale will always be a finale, ridding the show of the insurmountable problem of ending on a bang no matter the order. Suddenly, appointment television was a thing of the past and water cooler conversations started with, “Have you finished it yet?”

Netflix's heist drama 'Kaleidoscope,' starring Giancarlo Esposito, is designed so viewers can watch the episodes in any order.

I can only speak to the one I went with. All of which means it’s impossible for me to guess what might count as a “spoiler” to anyone else.) At least “Yellow,” set six weeks before the crime, turned out to be as good a place for me to start watching the series as any. It wasn’t until I’d gulped down the whole season that I realized that, no, the person at its center was simply never granted an inner life to begin with. Used well, a time-hopping structure can tease big twists, offer conflicting perspectives, bring us closer to a character’s inner turmoil or draw out thematic parallels between past and present. Also in classic heist-thriller fashion, the fun lies in watching these clashing personalities bond or butt heads or cast suspicion on one another as their talents click together to accomplish the unimaginable. The main advantage of its unorthodox structure is that it helps obscure how generic some of its component pieces really are. If I’m doing the math correctly, there are over 5,000 possible ways to get through the season if you follow Netflix’s half-hearted assertion that “White,” the installment covering the heist itself, is intended as the finale — or over 40,000 if you decide to chuck that suggestion out the window. Gimmick aside, the installments actually lend themselves to a fairly straightforward linear progression. Whether it actually enhances the narrative, however, is another question entirely, and one with a rather less inspiring answer. My colleague Dan Fienberg recently penned a screed against the Depending on the path you take, you’ll have a different perspective on what the show’s deepest mysteries are, which characters seem sympathetic or villainous, and whether certain beats play as setup or payoff.

Netflix's new heist series, "Kaleidoscope," will premiere on January 1. Here's everything we know about if Kaleidoscope is based on a true story.

On December 13, Netflix officially premiered the trailer for the series with the description, "There are 7 billion ways to solve a crime. [Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/80992058), the streamer will build "intrigue and suspense" by granting members access to different episodes at different times. Kaleidoscope is a star-studded series loosely based on an IRL heist that took place in New York.