Culture Chat: The Greek myths are sacred. Did ‘Kaos’ desecrate them?

Life and Art from FT Weekend

Forhecz Topher

Tv & Film, Arts, Society & Culture

4.6 • 601 Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2024

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Put on your laurel wreath. Today we’re joining the gods and taking on Kaos, Netflix's new black comedy series that reimagines the Greek myths. The show follows Zeus (played by Jeff Goldblum) as he struggles to rule over Earth and The Underworld from a gaudy mansion on Mount Olympus. You’ll recognize a lot: the Minotaur and Orpheus myths, the fates, the furies, Medusa in middle management and cameos from the likes of Eddie Izzard and Billie Piper. Why are the Greek myths so endlessly popular? What do we want out of our adaptations? And did this one live up? Lilah is joined by the FT's Josh Spero and Claire Bushey, who enthusiastically disagree with her, to discuss.

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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at [email protected]. We are ever grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!

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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):

– Kaos is streaming on Netflix now!

– The FT’s review of Kaos, by Dan Einav, is here

– Josh wants more by the composer Joseph Anton Bruckner. You can read his review of the Berliner Philharmoniker orchestra performing Bruckner here

– Josh Spero is on X @joshspero. Claire Bushey is at @Claire_Bushey

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Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart

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Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clip courtesy of Netflix.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Life and Art from FT Weekend. I'm Lila Raptopoulos, and this is our Friday chat show.
0:08.1	Today, we are talking about the new Netflix series Chaos, which is a modern retelling of Greek mythology.
0:14.2	Chaos is as if the Greek gods were living in present-day Greece. Zeus is played by the great Jeff Goldblum.
0:20.4	He lives in a goddy,
0:22.1	new money mansion in the sky. King Minus, Eurydice, Orpheus, and many other names you would
0:27.9	recognize live in the human world in Heracle and Crete, where people are starting to question the
0:32.8	power of the gods. And meanwhile, down in the underworld, things are starting to glitch, too. Zeus is becoming
0:38.7	increasingly paranoid and authoritarian. Hera and Poseidon are trying to calm him down, and the whole
0:44.8	world order is threatened to fall. Mortals, I made you. And this is how you repay me.
0:52.7	No, what have you done? And this is how you repay me.
0:59.6	Really?
1:01.4	We're meant to be together.
1:04.4	To date you else.
1:05.1	Or what?
1:06.3	Leave him.
1:10.7	We need to make destruction really sing.
1:17.4	Chaos is zany, it's gruesome, it's tragic, and today we're going to talk about it.
1:21.7	I'm Lila in New York, and as long as the meander flows, I rain.
1:26.4	Joining me from London, rumor has that he spotted a vertical wrinkle on his forehead this morning.
1:27.5	It's our great associate arts editor, Josh Spiro. Hi, Josh. Welcome. How dare you, the Botox should have taken care of
1:32.4	all of that. And joining us from Chicago, I think she just turned my mother into a bee. It's the
1:39.2	FT Chicago reporter, Claire Bushy. Hi, Claire. Hello. Welcome to both of you. Thank you for coming. Great to be here.
	...

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