The new Netflix show features a lot of famous figures from Greek mythology – but if you’ve got issues with the story, KAOS creator Charlie Covell doesn’t want to hear them.
When it comes to any live-action adaptation, there are two roads to choose from. Do you decide to stay completely faithful to source material, or do you leave room for creative license?
New TV show KAOS opts for the second strategy, throwing together juggernauts from Greek mythology like Zeus, Poseidon, and Medusa to create a near-original story. The Netflix series focuses on six humans, who learn they are each connected to the Gods in some unforeseen way.
Naturally, no episodes are a direct lift from mythological retelling, and that isn’t an issue for creator Charlie Covell. In fact, if viewers do have issues, they’re not interested.
“We haven’t had anyone ringing up and being like, ‘That’s not what happened in the myth.’ I’m sure that will happen… but I’m hoping people won’t. I hope they will be nice” they explained to Dexerto.
“Those who saw it early on got all the jokes and the Easter eggs. So I was kind of relieved. I thought, ‘Oh my God, these people. They’re geeks like me.’ I didn’t know what they would think of it.”
For Covell, the act of retelling popular stories honors the way we’ve come to learn about them. Regardless of who you ask, we’ve likely all been told different versions of tales that may or may not have involved actual people.
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“They can change and shift, and that’s what they have done historically,” Covell continued. “I think I feel like there’s hopefully a permission to retell myths. That’s kind of the tradition. So I know there’ll be some purists who don’t like it. That’s completely fine, and I’m expecting that.”
All eight episodes of KAOS tackle these myths slightly differently, but that’s for a reason.
Covell added “What I would love is that people that know nothing about the Greek myths – or even don’t even like the Greek myths – like the show, and people who know loads about them and love them like it as well. It shouldn’t ever feel exclusionary, or I didn’t want people there to do homework or anything like that.”
As for what could come next? “I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more. I think things would get bigger, nastier, and even more epic.”
KAOS is available on the streaming service now. For more Netflix updates, check out Virgin River Season 6, Stranger Things Season 5, and Heartstopper Season 3. You can also take a look are more TV shows streaming this month.