So much can be ascertained about a show from its colour palette. Look at how the snowy whiteouts of Nordic noir, or the persimmon plains of the American West, use colour to orient the viewer. This is where you are. But in Netflix’s new eight-part robbery romp, Kaleidoscope, colour throws viewer expectations into a phantasmagorical blender. From the greens of prison escapes to the yellows of diamond heists, the violets of memory to the reds of betrayal, the whole Dulux paint chart is on dazzling display.
Giancarlo Esposito (of Breaking Bad fame) is Leo Pap, a preternaturally composed career criminal on – you guessed it – one last job. He’s a sort of budget Danny Ocean, and he puts together for the raid a knock-off 11: smuggler Stan (Peter Mark Kendall), chemist Judy (Rosaline Elbay), armourer Ava (Paz Vega), safe-cracker Bob (Jai Courtney), and driver RJ (Jordan Mendoza). And then there’s the mysterious Hannah (Tati Gabrielle), the woman on the inside, who has a long, difficult history with the burglars. Together they’re going to pull off the perfect heist, one that steals $7bn (£5.8bn) from “the triplets” (vague but nefarious Euro bankers) and humiliates Rufus Sewell’s security consultant, Roger Salas. But all is not quite as it seems – and the key to unlocking the full colour spectrum might lie in Leo’s murky past. “All ain’t alright with the world, not by a long shot,” he announces solemnly. “So we gotta stand up straight and make it right.”
