Netflix’s Kaleidoscope wants you to take part in its thrilling nonlinear heist plot

The official trailer for Netflix’s Kaleidoscope has landed online – and the streamer wants you to solve to its dramatic heist puzzle as part of the fun.

Kaleidoscope’s latest teaser, which you can watch below, provides more context about the forthcoming Netflix series’ plot. However, the most appealing aspect of the crime thriller is how it actively recruits viewers to partake in its narrative, with audiences asked to work out the wider mystery before they reach the series finale.

First, check out the official trailer for Kaleidoscope:

Looks fun, right? Well, that’s only the start.

How so? Because not only does Kaleidoscope want you to actively participate in solving the mystery behind the heist itself, but you’ll have to work out how and why it happened in a unique, nonlinear order.

You see, Kaleidoscope isn’t your traditional crime show. When the show launches on January 1, 2023, anyone who loads it up will be assigned all eight episodes – which are set anywhere from 25 years before the heist to six months after – in a random sequence. The only thing each viewer will have in common is that the White episode (aka the day of the heist itself) is the final one that everyone will stream.

Here’s a quick rundown of Kaleidoscope’s episodes. Remember, this isn’t the exact order you’ll watch them in. Some of you will start with Red, others will begin with Violet, etcetera:

• Violet: 24 Years Before the Heist
• Green: 7 Years Before the Heist 
• Yellow: 6 Weeks Before The Heist
• Orange: 3 Weeks Before the Heist
• Blue: 5 Days Before the Heist
• Red: The Morning After the Heist  
• Pink: 6 Months After
• White: The Heist, aka the epic story finale

Your job, then, will be to work out what happens during the heist, why certain characters make the decisions they make as it plays out, and which individuals (if any) end up betraying their crewmates based on what you witness in the other episodes. All of the clues are provided in the show’s other entries, so Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot wannabees will need to play close attention to what’s shown on the screen, every line of dialog uttered, and more.

We previously suggested that Kaleidoscope was an ambitious TV experiment for Netflix to conduct, and the show’s latest teaser only strengthens our opinion on that front. We suspect it won’t take Kaleidoscope long to make it onto our best Netflix shows list and, based on what we’ve seen, we think there’ll be plenty of crime thriller and heist-based enthusiasts who’ll want to check it out.

Need more context about its plot? Don’t worry, Netflix has got you covered. 

“Spanning 25 years, Kaleidoscope (previously titled Jigsaw) is an all-new anthology series following a crew of masterful thieves and their attempt to crack a seemingly unbreakable vault for the biggest payday in history,” the series’ official plot synopsis reads.

“Loosely inspired by the real-life story where seventy billion dollars in bonds went missing in downtown Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy, Kaleidoscope consists of eight episodes spanning from 24 years before the heist to 6 months after.

“The compelling crime anthology series takes a non-linear approach to storytelling, building intrigue and suspense uniquely, with Netflix members each having a different immersive viewing experience. All viewers will eventually see all episodes, but the order in which they watch the episodes will affect their viewpoint on the story, the characters, and the questions and answers at the heart of the heist. How will you experience the colors of Kaleidoscope?”

Kaleidoscope stars Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian season 3, Breaking Bad), Jai Courteney (The Suicide Squad), Paz Vega (Rambo: Last Blood), Rufus Sewell (Old), Tati Gabrielle (Uncharted, You), and Peter Mark Kendall (The Americans) among others. Eric Garcia serves as showrunner, while Russell Fine and Everardo Gout are among its multiple directors.

We’ll be bringing you even more Kaleidoscope coverage in and around launch day, so stick with TechRadar for our thoughts on the show, plus our exclusive chat with its cast.

Here’s that all-important release date again: Kaleidoscope lands on Netflix worldwide on January 1, 2023.