WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Kaleidoscope Season 1.The non-linear structure of Netflix’s Kaleidoscope proves that television doesn’t need to be viewed chronologically to be an immersive experience. In actuality, a large part of the show’s current streaming success is likely attributed to its unique format and the curiosity it provokes from an audience. But no matter which order viewers watched the series in, everyone witnessed the same events that took place before, after, and during the heist.
Niousha Noor plays the role of FBI Agent, Nazan Abassi, who is determined to regain custody of her child after suffering from a drug addiction. However, Nazan becomes consumed by the investigation into Leo Pap’s crew and ends up paying the ultimate price for her obsession. Noor is known for projects such as The Night and Here and Now. Kaleidoscope also stars Giancarlo Esposito, Paz Vega, Rufus Sewell, Tati Gabrielle, Peter Mark Kendall, Rosaline Elbay, Jai Courtney, Jordan Mendoza, Soojeong Son, and Hemky Madera.
Noor chats exclusively with Screen Rant about Kaleidoscope’s non-linear viewing experience, Nazan’s struggle with addiction, and her character’s shocking end.
Niousha Noor Breaks Down Kaleidoscope Season 1
Screen Rant: What were you first imagining when you heard the show was going to be non-linear?
Niousha Noor: To be very honest, I was like, “How are they going to pull this off? Every episode essentially is going to be a pilot, and they have to give the right amount of information—not too little, not too much. How is it going to work without ruining the other episodes or confusing the audience?” And so I read the script out of order too, just like the viewing experience. I was just so confused initially, because I wasn’t connecting the dots yet. And then once I read “White” and reread it, I started to get so excited. I’m like, “Oh, my goodness, I think they can pull this off.” It’s so cool to be a part of something that hasn’t been done before.
Do you think that someone who watches it in chronological order will have fewer questions than someone who watches it on shuffle?
Niousha Noor: One-hundred percent. Because if you watch it chronologically you know the motivations, you have a sense of theme, you know who’s who, and what really happened. You can watch it chronologically. There’s no wrong way. But I think the fun in this sort of format is that you can shuffle around, and then go back and see all these clues that were hidden and all these things that you miss, and then you connect it. That’s a cool, fun experience, you know?
There are so many things you will miss unless you go back and watch. For example, if you watch, “Orange” let’s say, which is more focused on Nazan and Ava’s relationship, whatever she’s discovering about the Diamond Way—you have no idea what they’re talking about. It’s little things like that. And then you watch “Yellow” and you’re like, “Oh, okay. That’s what she meant when she said ‘injured right hand,'” for example. Little things like that you will definitely miss if you watch out of order, but it’s very cool to discover them after.
The main focus of the show is obviously the heist and there are a lot of time jumps. Nazan’s character is established off-screen, so were you given a more in-depth backstory beforehand?
Niousha Noor: Eric, the showrunner, who created all these characters, he’s such an amazing collaborative, that we would just sit and talk about her. He was so open to listening to my ideas, because as you said, so much of what happens to her is off-screen that really determines her character and her motivation. He was on the same page. I went really far back to why she joined the FBI and exactly what happened during the first FBI years that she then was driven to start using. Also, the seven years between “Green” and “Orange,” she had all these things happen that spiraled her into this obsession. And then she got clean, and then she came back. It was a really cool, collaborative experience to do that with Eric. I really appreciated that about him.
She briefly mentions what led to her addiction, but did you have any more details on that?
Niousha Noor: I listened to a lot of these podcasts and I spoke to ex-FBI agents just to familiarize myself with that experience of that internal racism. That may be what happened because she’s Middle Eastern in the FBI, but also, she was a woman and just those conflicting feelings. You join, you want to do the right thing, you want to get those bad guys, but then there’s ignorance and racism within the system as well.
And so what that did to her…she couldn’t reconcile, as she says herself, from the guilt and the things that she was tasked to do. Again, it’s a very complicated complex, and I appreciated that it wasn’t just this one-note character. That was all before, but this is a reason for her using. She has an encounter with Paz’s character, Ava, in “Green” and she’s suspended for it. Everything falls apart after that for her.
You can tell Nazan is very committed to recovery and regaining custody of her son. A lot of her co-workers, and even just the other characters in general, kept using her past as a way to discredit her. Do you think those doubts are why she was so determined to solve this case?
Niousha Noor: Absolutely. Again, it’s a multifaceted character. On one hand, I think, of course, there’s an element of shame, because everyone in the FBI knows that she was suspended because she was using drugs. So that’s not something she’s proud of. And there’s a moment where she listens to that tape in her old interviews with Ava Mercer, and she can hear herself—how high she was—and she’s disgusted by that.
So there is this thing where she wants to redeem herself, and she has an instinct that something is up and bigger in a way. She really thinks she can prove it, but she’s not allowed to. But then she’s confronted again with breaking the rules. It’s this duality of wanting to do the right thing and see her son and be a good mom and be responsible. If she wants that to happen, she has to follow the rules. She was specifically told to stay away from the case. But she can’t let go.
There’s also Ava, the person who she blames for ruining her life. As an addict, she didn’t really gain full enlightenment because she didn’t really do the work. She doesn’t hold herself responsible for everything that happened. She thinks it’s Ava’s fault. It was all these different layers of wanting to get back at her, but also wanting to prove herself and that she’s a good agent. Then that kind of spirals her into that obsession, which she risks everything for.
That kind of ties into something that I was curious about, which is Nazan calling ICE on Ava’s nanny to blackmail her. Do you think that was a decision she struggled with? As you said, she’s very multifaceted.
Niousha Noor: Yeah. That’s why I love “Orange” and the arc of her character because she starts out clean, following the rules, and then Ava’s character resurfaces, and she struggles. There’s that key scene in the AA meeting that she has with Sarah, played by Vickie Tanner, where she said, isn’t there a point in recovery where she should trust herself? Because her instincts are to break the rules and follow the case. And she tells her, “You are not the person you used to be, so you have to let go of who you were and trust who you are now, so listen to your voice.”
So she takes that as a justification that it’s okay to go rogue. It’s okay to break the rules because, “I’m not using anymore. I can trust these thoughts.” From there on, she starts to, again, break all the rules, one after the other. By the end, there’s more desperation. If she’s not able to get Ava then, out of desperation, she’s just wanting to prove that she’s right. She just pulled that one on her, which is again, another layer to the character. She’s not perfect, either, you know?
Was there anything else that really stood out to you about her?
Niousha Noor: I liked how tenacious and how driven she is. She really is the raging fire that’s threatening to bring this whole crew down, and you need her, but she’s also damaged. Unfortunately, some scenes don’t make it, but there was another scene that I really loved in “Green” where it really highlighted that she had hit rock bottom, and it really showed that about her character. I liked that she was a complicated character.
Me, Niousha, the actress, didn’t love the choices and risking custody of her son and doing illegal things, but I understood her. I respected and admired her driven spirit. And she’s smart. Some people, of course, root for the bad guy. They’re like, “Ugh, this FBI agent. Why won’t she leave them alone?” but she really did get most of the things right. She was onto them, and her instincts were right, and I think it’s cool to play someone like that.
What were your thoughts on her ending? This is advertised as a limited series, but could there be potential for a second season? We don’t know for sure what happened to Nazan—is she actually dead?
Niousha Noor: I think they purposely left it a little vague. From what I know—I hope I’m wrong—but it is just supposed to be that this series has a beginning, middle, and end. But there are clues. I’m sure you’ve read all the theories about what really happened to her. The hints are found in the episode “Blue” and the hint is that it had something to do with the triplets. It was interesting how they left it kind of vague, but if you go back then it kind of makes sense and she kind of brought it on herself in a way.
As far as there being a Season 2…not that I know of, but I would be so excited and thrilled if maybe there are ideas of using the same actors and cast but an entirely different story, something like that. But I just call Eric all the time, I leave him very long voice notes, and I just give him all my ideas of what I think he should do, and he’s like, “Yes, thank you. I’m thinking about some things.” I would be so excited if that was to happen.
It’s such a unique concept, so it would be great to see it again. There’s nothing out there like it, honestly.
Niousha Noor: Exactly. And they’re creative geniuses, seriously. As I said in the beginning of our conversation, when I first read it, I was like, “How can they pull this off? This takes so much planning and detail and creativity,” and they did and it’s so cool. I’m just so grateful and excited to be a part of this kind of show, you know?
All the characters have a special skill they bring to the heist—we’re going to include Nazan as well. If you could have one of their talents, which one would you pick?
Niousha Noor: I think she’s pretty intelligent—Nazan. I’m going to go with that. She’s just ahead. She doesn’t get everything at the right moment right, but I think it’s her drive. She really thinks outside the box. I don’t know what the word is—tenacity. Yeah. That’s what I would say. And to be a woman and not be listened to and not be taken seriously and then finally get it all right at the end, even though she’s not there to see it—I just think her intelligence is pretty cool.
About Kaleidoscope
Spanning 25 years, Kaleidoscope (previously titled Jigsaw) is an all-new anthology series following a crew of masterful thieves and their attempt to crack a seemingly unbreakable vault for the biggest payday in history. Guarded by the world’s most powerful corporate security team, and with law enforcement on the case, every episode reveals a piece of an elaborate puzzle of corruption, greed, vengeance, scheming, loyalties, and betrayals. How did the crew of thieves plan it? Who gets away with it? Who can be trusted?
Check out our other interviews with the Kaleidoscope cast here:
Kaleidoscope is currently available to stream on Netflix.
