From Zeus to Moses: Mythical Retellings I Can’t Stop Watching

Modern retellings of myths that breathe new life into ancient tales—full of drama, fantasy, and fresh perspectives.

Hi! Surprising no one who knows me IRL, I really like engaging with myth-based storytelling (especially contemporary retellings of classics that offer new insights into the women in the stories). Here’s a quick list of mythic movies and television series I’ve streamed and enjoyed recently. I am not a film snob, so you’ll have to go look up real media criticism if you want to know whether they’re “good” or not.

Kaos (2024)

One day I’d like to read or write a book called either We Need to Talk About Zeus or Zeus is a F*cking Problem. Curse Netflix for canceling this show because it was funny, irreverent, a little dark, heartbreaking, and utterly fascinating - all of my favorite things! It was fun to watch with my spouse and flex my myth muscles by explaining where Kaos diverged from the versions of the myths that I know. I loved the contemporary take on the Greek gods, especially Jeff Goldblum as the petulant and fearful tyrant Zeus. Also, I really enjoyed how they depicted Eurydice’s (Aurora Perrineau) exhaustion with Orpheus and her rage toward the gods. Kaos was about being critical of what is supposedly untouchable and sacred, so if you like troubling the waters and toppling monuments you should watch it (and help me egg the Netflix execs’ homes). This show is also great for the monster studies, babes!

Rings of Power (present)

I’m watching season two of Rings of Power right now and having a great time. I do not care what Tolkien stans have to say about it. People can have their critiques; legacy fandoms such as LOTR, Star Wars, Dune, on and on and on can get very precious about their favs in ways I don’t agree with. This show is fun, and I’m a sucker for fantasy with unambiguously Black femme folks as characters: shoutout to Sophia Nomvete who plays Disa. The first time I heard her sing “Plea to the Rocks” I was agog! If you’re a Tolkien purist or fell asleep during Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, it might not be for you. Watching the rise of a fascist tyrant that manipulates people repeatedly and incites a world war seems timely, no?

Troy: Fall of a City (2018)

Troy was a limited series that got bad reviews on IMDB and middling reviews on Rotten Tomatoes; those reviewers are jackasses. I appreciated that the show demonstrated how the gods meddling in human affairs impacted the outcome of the war. It’s a show where pretty much everyone has dicey ethics, and the characters are complicated. My suspicion is that people rated it down because a) they haven’t read the epic, or b) the actors who played Achilles (David Gyasi), Patroclus (Lemogang Tsipa), and Aeneas (Alfred Enoch) are Black. These are central characters in the Greek myths, and y’all know how casting non-white folks tends to get “purists” (racists) in a frenzy. The Iliad is my problematic fav Greco-Roman epic; it is dramatic and violent, and neither the book nor this show shy away from depicting the gruesome nature of war. Maybe skip it if your ability to compartmentalize current events or dissociate are in a healthier place than mine.

Medici (2016)

I prefer to binge tv shows that have been canceled or whose run has ended by the time I get around to it because I detest cliffhangers and I don’t have the patience to wait on a show every week. For example, I didn’t start Game of Thrones until it was in its final season; I am convinced that GoT stole this show’s thunder, and I will die on that hill; Richard Madden (Robb Stark) stars in season one as Cosimo de Medici. To vastly oversimplify their importance, the Medici family were patrons of many of the most prominent artists of the Italian Renaissance such as DaVinci and Brunelleschi. They wielded significant political power in Florence from as early as the 14th century by funding the rise of multiple popes. If you like historical dramas, political dynasties and romance, please watch Medici!

Testament: The Story of Moses (2024)

This mini-series had expert interviews from a mix of practitioners and scholars of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. I like that the showrunners didn’t favor any one of the Abrahamic faiths over the others, but instead included multiple perspectives on all of them since Moses is a pivotal player in each tradition. I really enjoyed the series’ attention to the sociopolitical impact of the Hebrew Exodus and the importance of women in that movement. We will ignore the tragic way they did Avi Azulay’s makeup in the opening scenes of episode one because he actually ate this role. Fans of epic literature would love Testament. Fans of The Prince of Egypt, maybe not so much… No catchy tunes.

The Boy and the Heron (2023)

I’m (very) slowly working my way through all the Studio Ghibli films on HBO Max. I have to admit that I don’t always “get” them, but I really enjoy their aesthetic experience, how they incorporate a lot of silence, and how the combination of the animation and the silence demands that I give them my full attention rather than allow myself to multitask. If you can recognize underworld archetypes, you will really enjoy The Boy and the Heron!

Bonus: If you watched Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and want to learn more about Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Mayan mythology, check out this Thread!

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