Created by Charlie Covell (The End of the F***ing World), this darkly funny series finds an increasingly paranoid Zeus (a delightfully droll Jeff Goldblum) fearing the end of his reign when he notices a wrinkle on his forehead and interprets it as a harbinger of doom. The series is narrated by Prometheus (Stephen Dillane), Zeus’ best friend who incurred Zeus’ wrath so he’s being endlessly tortured by hanging from a cliff where a bird pecks at his guts. It’s just another day on Olympus.
Zeus is married to Hera (Janet McTeer) who’s having an affair with Poseidon (Cliff Curtis). Zeus’ son Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan) desperately wants more responsibility. Eurydice “Riddy” (Aurora Perrineau) has fallen out of love with her partner Orpheus (Killian Scott). Hades (David Thewlis) is doing his best to keep the underworld humming. Medusa (Debi Mazar), Cassandra (Billie Piper), Persephone (Ralie Ayola)—the gang’s all here! You don’t have to know Greek and Roman mythology to enjoy the series, but it helps.
It’s a tad overstuffed, maybe even verging on bloated, but it’s also a lot of fun, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Goldblum especially seems to be having a blast. Satiric Greek mythology in the modern world for the win! (eight 46- to 56-min. episodes)
—Glen Starkey