Is Kaleidoscope on Netflix based on a true story?

Is Kaleidoscope based on a true story? Giancarlo Esposito’s new heist series has just hit Netflix, but is it based on real events?

The official synopsis for the show reads: “Spanning 25 years, Kaleidoscope 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?”

The “non-linear” Netflix series comes equipped with a twisty, epic story of deception, theft, and thrills – but is Kaleidoscope based on a true story?

Is Kaleidoscope based on a true story?

While Kaleidoscope is fictional, the heist series is actually “loosely inspired by a real-life story”, according to Netflix.

As per the streaming platform, the show is inspired by a strange case when “$70 billion in bonds went missing in downtown Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy.”

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. Its impact was immense, causing more than $70 billion in damage and taking the lives of 233 people across eight countries from the Caribbean to Canada.

It affected a total of 24 states across the US, with particularly severe damage in New York. As per The New York Post, the floodwaters from the storm seeped into a secret underground vault in Manhattan, soaking 1.3 million bond and stock certificates.

While the exact value of the vault has never been confirmed, one source told the outlet that it was in the region of $70 billion. DTCC spokeswoman Judy Inosanto said: “I can’t go into details. We do not provide values for security reasons.”

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp, responsible for trying to recover the soaked securities, eventually said it was a “very small percentage” of the $39.5 trillion of stocks and bonds that its depository stores, Reuters reported.

So, it’s safe to say, while Kaleidoscope is inspired by the story, it’s taken tremendous liberty with the reality of it: the hurricane was the real thief of the vault, rather than Giancarlo Esposito’s team.

Kaleidoscope is streaming on Netflix now. You can find the rest of our coverage here.