Jeff Goldblum has announced that he will be joining the cast of Kaos, an upcoming Netflix comedy series that takes a new, modern perspective on the ancient Greek gods. Goldblum will join the cast as Zeus, the powerful yet-insecure king of the gods; the news of Goldblum’s casting comes after reports of Hugh Grant, who was previously cast in the show, declining the role.
Netflix’s Kaos was first announced in January 2022. The series, which reportedly entered filming last week, was created and entered development under Charlie Covell, the creator behind The End of the F***ing World, a 2017 drama series that reached critical acclaim on Netflix. Kaos, which is described as a “genre-bending series” that “puts a modern twist on Greek and Roman mythology” per Netflix, will follow Zeus, king of the gods, as he discovers a new wrinkle on his forehead and fears that his reign is doomed because of it – according to MovieWeb, neurosis and paranoia will lead Zeus down a “dangerous, paranoid path” as he begins to see signs of his fall around every corner.
How Jeff Goldblum ended up in “Kaos”
Initially, the role of Zeus was set to be played by Hugh Grant, whose previous titles include Love Actually (2003) and Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001). According to Deadline, Grant was forced to pull out of the series due to scheduling conflicts – more information on the matter hasn’t been released. Still, with Grant involved in two upcoming projects, including Dungeons & Dragons (2022) and Unfrosted (2023), it’s not hard to imagine he has a full plate.
With news of Grant’s casting replacement, Jeff Goldblum is now set to join existing Kaos cast members Janet McTeer (Allegiant), who will play Hera, Zeus’s wife and Queen of the Gods, whose power has become threatened by her husband; David Thewlis (Harry Potter) who will play Hades, Zeus’s brother and God of the Underworld who’s slowly losing his grip on his job; and Cliff Curtis (Risen) who will play Poseidon, Zeus’s other brother and God of the Seas who is altogether more concerned with the size of his super-yacht. Kaos will also star Nabhaan Rizwan as Dionysus, God of Wine and Zeus’s out-of-control son, Killian Scott as Orpheus, Misia Butler as Caneus, Shila Ommi as Pas, Aurora Perrineau as Riddy, and Leila Farzad as Ari, among others.

Fans of Jeff Goldblum’s trademark chaotic energy will likely find themselves pleased by his casting in Kaos, as according to Deadline, “Nothing is sacred in Covell’s bold reinvention of Greek myths (think tracksuits, not togas), except the treachery and arrogance of a bunch of inconstant gods and their cosmic machinations…Some things never change.”
Kaos will be directed by Georgi Banks-Davies (I Hate Suzie) and Runyararo Mapfumo (Masterpiece). Banks-Davies will also serve as executive producer, alongside Jane Featherstone (Spooks), Chris Fry (Chernobyl), and Nina Lederman (Dolly). A release date for the series has not yet been announced.