New web series 'Kaleidoscope' can be viewed in any order!

WASHINGTON: The first seven episodes of the new series 'Kaleidoscope,' which premiered on January 1, can be watched in any order the viewer pleases before the final episode. This makes it feel like it might be perfect for a New Year's Day binge - in terms of form and launch date.

The awareness that viewing order doesn't matter and, more importantly, that important material will be repeated as necessary to make issues apparent may comfort a possibly mildly hungover viewer.

According to Variety, The central narrative of 'Kaleidoscope' is an engaging one; beneath the whirling of its random-episode design is the tale of a daring heist carried out by a skilled thief (Giancarlo Esposito) and his crack team as a form of sort of retaliation.

The problem with 'Kaleidoscope,' however, is that its design is more of what a creator or streamer would do if they could, rather than a creative approach to advance storytelling.

According to Variety's Daniel D'Addario, the series is novel enough to have a bunch of episodes available to watch in random order (although it's not brand-new: The former CBS All Access launched 2020 a series, "Interrogation," built in a similar way).

Because of these restrictions, every episode must be understandable to viewers who are brand-new to the series and for whom this may be their first episode.

(For the same reasons, it feels like almost everything about this programme could be interpreted as a spoiler; suffice it to say that Esposito's character is on a mission not just to win back money but affection, and to harm an opponent in the process.)

The real-life incident in which bonds worth USD 70 billion went missing during Hurricane Sandy in downtown Manhattan served as a loose inspiration for Kaleidoscope. There are eight episodes in all, starting 24 years before the theft and ending six months later.

It follows a group of cunning thieves as they try to open a vault that seems impenetrable in order to get the greatest payout ever.

Every episode unveils a piece of a complex puzzle of corruption, greed, vengeance, scheming, loyalties, and betrayals, protected by the most formidable corporate security team in the world and with law enforcement on the case.