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That ’90s Show, Black Mirror, and the 10 worst Netflix shows of 2023

ByReed Gaudens|
That ‘90s Show. (L to R) Callie Haverda as Leia Forman, Ashley Aufderheide as Gwen Runck, Maxwell Acee Donovan as Nate in episode 102 of That ‘90s Show. Cr. Patrick Wymore/Netflix © 2022
That ‘90s Show. (L to R) Callie Haverda as Leia Forman, Ashley Aufderheide as Gwen Runck, Maxwell Acee Donovan as Nate in episode 102 of That ‘90s Show. Cr. Patrick Wymore/Netflix © 2022
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Kaleidoscope cast guide - Netflix shows
Kaleidoscope. (L to R) Jordan Mendoza as RJ, Peter Mark Kendall as Stan Loomis, Giancarlo Esposito as Leo Pap, Jai Courtney as Bob Goodwin, Rosaline Elbay as Judy Goodwin, Paz Vega as Ava Mercer in episode “Yellow” of Kaleidoscope. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

Kaleidoscope

The fact that I already forgot about Kaleidoscope’s existence speaks to how little impact it made on Netflix in 2023. Though the anthology series created by Eric Garcia (Repo Men) is undoubtedly ambitious, the follow-through is where it seriously lacks. The crime drama follows a thief named Leo Pap (Giancarlo Esposito) who organizes a grand heist after serving 17 years in prison.

The cool part about Kaleidoscope is that Netflix delivers the episodes to subscribers in different orders, meaning viewers can have a completely different experience depending on how the episodes are presented in their library. This factor definitely attracted me to the series, but unfortunately, there’s really no substance to the actual story. The dialogue isn’t good and the scenes are very unbelievable. (And not in a funny way.) There’s nothing to the story or cinematography that we haven’t seen before, making this a very forgetful watch.

It’s unfortunate that Kaleidoscope wasn’t more successful, because I will say the cast is great. Alongside Esposito (Breaking Bad), the show stars Tati Gabrielle (You), Paz Vega (Rambo: Last Blood), Jai Courtney (Suicide Squad), Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat), and other familiar faces.

Similar to Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and their other interactive titles, the only thing interesting about Kaleidoscope is the experimental aspect of it, which reveals itself as a gimmick by the time you complete the series.

Kaleidoscope premiered on Jan. 1, 2023, making it the first of many disappointing Netflix shows this year.

Written by Natalie Zamora

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