Netflix is cracking into 2023 in a huge way with their series, Kaleidoscope. Created and sorted so that viewers could watch in any order, the heist mystery chronicles a quarter of a century, beginning 24 years prior to the crime, and the months after, and the stakes are impossibly high. For a whopping seven billion dollars, split evenly six ways, a group of highly skilled thieves will attempt to break into the most secure vault in the United States – possibly the world.

Kaleidoscope stars Giancarlo Esposito as Leo Pap, the mastermind of the operation with a seven-billion-dollar chip on his shoulder and his eye on an old foe and corporate titan, Roger Salas (played by Rufus Sewell). On the other side of the coin, Tati Gabrielle plays Hannah Kim, an intelligent and ambitious protégé toeing the line between the world of finance and the underworld of crime. The series’ cast also features Jai Courtney, Rosaline Elbay, Paz Vega, and Jordan Mendoza among others.

Before Kaleidoscope premieres on Netflix beginning January 1, Collider’s Steve Weintraub was able to speak with Esposito and Gabrielle about the upcoming series. During their interview, they explain the different experiences viewers will get from watching the series in different orders and reveal which true events Kaleidoscope is based on. Gabrielle also teases the series’ twists and Esposito discusses what fans can expect from The Mandalorian Season 3. You can watch the interview in the video above, or read the full transcript down below.

COLLIDER: I like throwing a curveball at the beginning. If someone has actually never seen anything that either of you have done before, what is the first thing you'd like them watching, and why?

GIANCARLO ESPOSITO: That's a great question.

TATI GABRIELLE: That is a really great question.

ESPOSITO: You're very thoughtful. Wow. For me, I think it'd have to be Do the Right Thing because it was just such a film that changed the course of history for African Americans who were wanting and desiring to see positive images of themselves onscreen. I was working with a great artist, Spike Lee. And because of my energetic performance as Buggin' Out, someone who wanted to know the history of what happened that went before him, but didn't quite know it all, but still wanted to be an activist. So, it plays into my provocative nature of wanting people to see that side of me.

GABRIELLE: I think for me it would be [The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina] because Prudence was a really fun character for me to build and my first time playing a villain ever, or a villainous-type character. And I'm very proud of the way that I was able to add layers to Prudence, and was able to humanize her through her being this, excuse my French for this, bitchy sort of character. I think that it's a good introduction to me, and to show where I came from, as far as being an actor, because I took a lot of my theater training into Prudence. And yeah, similarly, it's a character that I took a lot of energy to and that has a lot of energy. So yeah, I would choose Prudence.

Jumping into why I get to talk to you guys today, one of the crazy things about this series is you can watch it in any order. And I'm just curious if you want to suggest an order to people, or the way it pops up on Netflix?

GABRIELLE: I would want people to watch it how it pops up on Netflix. I definitely would not suggest an order because I'm very excited and curious to see, or to hear, the conversations that come out of everybody seeing it in a different way. And just excited to hear what people take from their particular set. So yeah, I would not suggest any order.

ESPOSITO: I would have to agree. I think the magic of this is to watch it in the color scheme that appeals to you. Certainly, if it pops up on Netflix in a suggested order, I would say jumble that order and just go for one. Because no matter which order you watch this particular show in, you're going to watch it again in a different order because you're going to be intrigued enough to want to see how all these puzzle pieces fit with each other, and how the connective tissue of all these characters gives you a different way in each time you watch it.

I love movies and shows that show heists, and this show, obviously, has a big heist. So what is it like being part of something [like this]?

ESPOSITO: To me, I think it's a wonderful genre. And I think this heist will be the ultimate heist because it gets heightened because you don't actually know that you're going to see all of it. Or you see all of it, but then you start to see it from a different angle, and you realize, “Oh, this happened in between this and this.” So I think this is the ultimate heist piece, I'll just say that.

And I think for me to do it, I felt like I was on a completely new adventure. Because what I have to do in this heist is pretty freaking amazing. I'm not only the mastermind of the heist – which, by the way, is based on a heist that took place during Hurricane Sandy, years ago, of $70 billion in unsecured bearer bonds, that was never solved. Not only am I the mastermind of that, but also, what I have to do to exact a certain kind of revenge on someone that you eventually find out, in many different permutations of the eight episodes, that I'm after, is kind of amazing. And so when you watch it, just know that I did all of that.

GABRIELLE: I'm just excited to be part of the heist genre in this way because one: it's thrilling. And by having these characters that are, Giancarlo used a really great term earlier, these Everyman characters, it gives the audience this thrill; the things that we all wish that we could try one day, or wish that we could tap into.

And similarly, too, I think the twists of this heist [are] what [make] it so incredible and makes it the ultimate heist because it's not just, “Okay, you have a team, they're after this, they get it, they go.” There's a bit more idiosyncrasy, and who you think might win is probably not who's going to win. I think that Eric [Garcia] and our whole writing team did an incredible job of throwing you with the heist, that it'll be like no heist experience you've had before.

Before I run out of time, Giancarlo, I do have to ask you an individual question. I was just in Brazil at CCXP, and they showed a pretty good sizzle reel of The Mandalorian Season 3. It looks insane with action, tons of Mandalorians teasing Mandalore. I don't know if you've seen the sizzle, but it looks massive. And so I have to ask you, how is Season 3 compared to the previous ones? What can you say about it?

ESPOSITO: I just think that the show gets more expanded and more visually profound with each season. And I think it's the vision of Jon Favreau and David Filoni, certainly, that begins that expansion. But it's also all of the artisans that they trust to collaborate with them. I was blown away by that sizzle reel. All of a sudden, the world just came at you in a much more intense, and – it's always been gratifying – but in a way that allowed you to know that feeling that you have of dread or doom, or excitement personified? That's the feeling you get because the story is all of a sudden being coalesced for you to understand elements that you didn't know about.

And so, I love the mythology that goes behind this show and is incorporated into the visuals that seem to be filmic. And I love the fact that you're able to see, with each episode this season, you're really turning on a new movie. Visually, it's a sight and sound extravaganza that expands you to a place.

Look, we can say a lot of words about a lot of different things, just like Kaleidoscope. But I think when you watch it, you have the space to feel emotion and connection between characters. The Mandalorian, you have the space to feel the largess of this universe, of this world-building. And you have the space to see where you fit in. God, I wish I could be that warrior, that hero, that heroine. And we see the weakness and the power of the villainous who want for themselves and not for the whole. What I love about this show, it is about our army, is about all of us who are starting to understand, once again, it's for the people and by the people. And if we stand up and allow our voices to be heard, and understand there's strength in numbers, we can then recreate the world as it should be in peace, harmony, and creatively, scientifically, and politically, a way for us to understand that there are no borders anymore. The Mandalorian exemplifies all of that. This season is off the chain, and you're going to love it.

Kaleidoscope begins streaming exclusively on Netflix on January 1. You can learn more about the series watching the trailer below.