The true story behind Netflix's new heist series, Kaleidoscope.

Netflix’s new series Kaleidoscope seems to be all anyone can talk about. Why? According to its creators, it can be watched in any order.

Oh, we love it when Netflix gets experimental like that. 

Remember when they made that choose-your-own-adventure film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch? Revolutionary. 

If you love heists, this one's for you, as it follows a group of criminals trying to pull off a heist during the middle of a raging storm.

But what people might not know about Kaleidoscope is that it’s loosely based on real events. 

Before we get into it, watch the trailer for Kaleidoscope here. Post continues below.

The true story behind Kaleidoscope.

The show’s creator Eric Garcia revealed to Tudum that he got the idea of a 'heist during a storm' from real events that went down during Hurricane Sandy. 

"It's loosely based on something that might have happened… After Hurricane Sandy, $70 billion worth of bonds got flooded in the basement of the DTCC, which is a large clearing effort that's owned by a bunch of the big banks," he said.

"To my mind, I was like, 'Well, that's a perfect coverup for a heist!'"

For those who don’t remember, Hurricane Sandy was an incredibly destructive Atlantic hurricane that, in 2012, hit the East of North America and the Caribbean. 

The hurricane reportedly killed at least 147 people and caused billions in damages.

Producing major flooding in several cities, it flooded an underground vault of a Wall Street owned organisation, ruining over 1.7 million paper certificates for shares, bonds, and other incredibly important financial documents that would go over all our heads.

While in reality, most of the lost finances were recovered, Kaleidoscope uses the drama of the storm as a cover for an epic heist.

What Kaleidoscope is about.

The series spans over 25 years and has the audience jumping before, during and after the heist. 

Your understanding of each character's motivations will entirely depend on which order you watch it in - I don’t know if I can handle the pressure!

The episodes aren’t numbered on Netflix but rather have colourful names because apparently seven of the eight episodes can be watched in any order, creating a unique viewing experience. 

All roads seamlessly lead to the finale ‘White’, which is symbolic because when you mix all the colours together you get white. 

While there is obviously no ‘correct’ order, the internet is absolutely flooded with recommendations on how to watch the show, so we’ve gathered what seems to be the most popular opinions with no spoilers.

Image: Netflix.

What's the best order to watch Kaleidoscope in?

Netflix has automatically put ‘Yellow’ as the first episode and there appear to be pros and cons to this as an entry point.

Pro: There’s a great twist at the end of the episode that will get ruined if you watch any of the others first.

Con: It’s not a very interesting way to start the show. While it introduces the characters and the plot, the meat of their motivations is lacking. 

If you are willing to let go of the twist, then people highly recommend starting with ‘Violet’ (set 24 years before the heist) and then ‘Green’ (seven years before the heist). 

This way you’ll get a great backstory for our protagonist Leo Pap, played by Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), before getting into the action!

Apparently for optimal viewing, we don’t want to start with ‘Orange’ or ‘Blue.’ 

While the plot would still make sense, the episodes drop you right amid some intense heist-planning and it doesn’t feel like a ‘beginning’ of a story. 

However, if chronology isn’t your thing anyway, these episodes give you insight into the weak points in the teams alliance. 

Make sure you’re ending with ‘Pink’ and then ‘White’. Whilst the creators talk about how the episodes can be watched in any order, it seems like these final two should be experienced at the end. 

With ‘White’, confirmed by the creators as needing to be watched last and ‘Pink’ referring to events that occur in the other episodes, they won’t hit the same if watched any earlier. 

But hey, these aren’t rules, you do you.

Maybe you’ll uncover little easter eggs from the wacky order you choose to watch it in - anything's possible!

Kaleidoscope is now streaming on Netflix.

Feature image: Netflix.