The Pentaverate

The Pentaverate is the newest creation from Mike Myers but the title of the Netflix comedy series has confused fans with many wondering about its meaning.

While the Pentaverate may share a number of similarities with the infamous Illuminati, the secret society is purely a work of fiction – as far as we’re aware. Meaning of The Pentaverate title explained That series is The Pentaverate, a comedic mystery series that delves into the world of conspiracy theories and secret societies.

The Austin Powers star plays almost every character in this sweet, silly, charmingly harmless comedy about a secret society – when he's not joined by the ...

We are informed of this at the beginning of every episode via a voiceover by Jeremy Irons, enjoying himself hugely in maximum Jeremy Irons mode.) It has worked behind the scenes for the good of humanity ever since. One for all the fans of country singer Crystal Gayle, there. This includes most of the Pentaverate, a secret society that is, unlike most secret societies, benevolent. Those who feel the same will fall like ravening beasts on The Pentaverate (Netflix). This is a six-episode piece of accomplished idiocy by Mike Myers, who has been specialising in such since the early 90s via Saturday Night Live, Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, the Shrek franchise and assorted other ventures. Billie Eilish is a future member – she will join in 2047.

Netflix's 'The Pentaverate' stars Mike Myers as about a dozen characters in a limited series that is basically just one bloated movie.

Making sense of “The Pentaverate” simply isn’t the point of “The Pentaverate,” which exists to let Mike Myers do whatever he wants almost 15 years after he last starred in a project of his own. The very charming Lydia West (“It’s a Sin”) gets the closest to playing a real character, but still deserves better than the one she got. With “The Pentaverate,” which dropped its six episodes on May 5, Myers gets to play as many characters as he likes in a story about a centuries-old cabal resisting discovery.

In the first episode of this limited series, Mike Myers plays eight different characters. Yes, you read that correctly.

None of the characters that he plays, with the possible exception of Ken, has anything resembling the most surface of character traits. The gags are either super-subtle, like the fuzzy, old-TV-esque picture of Ken and Reilly while they’re in Canada, or groan-inducing, like “Big Dick’s Half-Way Inn.” When a gag does land, he pounds out its chuckleworthiness by doing another minute of dialogue that underlines that gag. He almost turns down the offer to join the Pentaverate, but the alternative is taking poison, so, he takes the lesser of two evils. It’s a not-funny exercise in ego by Myers that strains to tell jokes that are about as fresh as a week-old avocado. Even when he hosted The Gong Show, he did so in character. Meanwhile, in Canada, where everything is fuzzier, veteran good-news reporter Ken Scarborough (Myers) finds out from the exceedingly nice news director at CACA that it’s time for him to retire, unless he can come up with a big story.

Mike Myers was able to save a lot of pay cheques by playing eight roles in the Netflix mini-series, "The Pentaverate." The story follows a secret society ...

While Ken and the Liechtenstein Guards dealt with the Red Robes, Patty, along with the other members of the panel, arrived in the Meadows to stop Bruce, and before Bruce could sell the Mentor, Cho informed him that Ken had escaped and they wouldn’t be able to sell the supercomputer without him because the key was attached to his DNA/blood. At this moment, Bruce and Cho were surrounded by Ken and all his allies, and as soon as Bruce saw his dreams fleeting away, he decided to take a nasty turn. Ken felt that it might be his destiny and thus decided to sacrifice his soul to the Mentor so that he could save the supercomputer and help humanity at large. However, how he survived the fall from the moon door is still a mystery, and the lack of logic makes it more interesting. However, before taking the cyanide pill, Lordington finally revealed his secret plan to bring Ken Scarborough to Pentaverate. He wanted Ken to transfer his soul to the Mentor so as to make the Mentor a kind supercomputer who wouldn’t turn against humanity and become a terminator. At that moment, Reilly revealed to Ken that she was a part of Fimbra Manus and was sent on a covert mission to bring Ken to the Pentaverate HQ. When she joined the secret organization a year ago, she noticed the lack of diversity in its decision panel, which was filled with white and whiter men, while there was tons of diversity in the lower levels, and Reilly understood the fact that they would never be able to climb the ladder or become a part of the core team, and hence she discussed the issue with Patty Davis, who had been fighting for diversity for a long time. According to the narrator, voiced by Jeremy Irons, the Septaverate was more representative and more inclusive, with much nicer people on the board. He knew none of the Pentaverate members would betray the society, and thus he decided to steal the spare key to get the majority vote. The Maester of Dubrovnik was very close to finding out the identity of the murderer who killed Jason Eccleston and Hobart Clark when suddenly he was put to death along with his two minions. Jason Eccleston invented the supercomputer Mentor to fight against fake and false news, but after a certain time, Bruce got convinced that humans are addicted and obsessed with clickbait articles and wouldn’t dare check the facts, so they didn’t deserve to be helped nor they deserve a machine like Mentor, which was when he decided to sell the machine for his personal gains. The members call him a traitor and accuse him of trying to expose them, thereby locking him up in a cube glass prison. If not the nerd talk, then Patty’s good looks do the trick, and Hobart agrees to an “Initiato” to finally become the fifth member of the Pentaverate. He can either join the panel and help them solve global climate change issue, or he can take a cyanide pill and end his life.

While the series may come from a one-liner joke from Mike Myers' So I Married an Axe Murderer, the meaning of the “pentaverate” is actually quite complex. Not ...

However, it could also mean that there’s a deeper meaning behind what we know about the Pentaverate — potentially, there’s something else going on beneath the surface, some sort of truth, that no one really knows about. “And I didn't personally know too much about it — the conspiracy world and secret society world. It leads to the erosion of democracy. Plus, Distractify spoke with several of The Pentaverate cast members, who were able to explain the meaning of The Pentaverate in a bit more detail. I think what the series does is just paint a light on those that do buy into these conspiracies and these theories, and base their whole existence off of them and search for answers in them in the wrong places as a way to fill a void in their lives.” Not only does the series itself mirror the Illuminati conspiracy theory, but the Pentaverate actually has its own meaning.

The legendary comedian behind “Wayne's World” and “Austin Powers” is capable of so much more than this splashy Netflix dud.

There are numerous mentions of a viral internet challenge known as “Kiss the Star” that involves putting lips to anus (the kids call it “a locally sourced rim job!”). There’s a supercomputer known as Mentor who sounds like a Massachusetts moron (“Basically, I’m wicked smart”). There’s a cornball moment in which Myers rehashes his performance of (and simultaneously reunites with) Shrek. There’s even a joke at the expense of Donald Rumsfeld, and a later one revolving around a Bush-Cheney ’04 T-shirt, both of which have been transported in from two decades ago. Our current conspiracy theory-drenched reality has already been mocked to death (see, for example, last year’s very similar Inside Job), and Myers and company find no novel angle with which to attack it, instead name-checking familiar fake news items while juggling a collection of threadbare plots. What he doesn’t have, however, is his finger on the pulse. Quite a few elements strewn throughout The Pentaverate recall Myers’ shagadelic spy films, but a lack of originality is a less pressing problem than a wholesale absence of inspiration. Thus, at series’ outset, a new member is recruited: Dr. Hobart Clark ( Keegan-Michael Key), a scientist on the verge of solving cold fusion and, with it, climate change. Save for Key’s Clark, all of these characters are played by Myers, who also embodies the show’s protagonist Ken Scarborough, a Canadian TV journalist whose outdated man-on-the-street reports have put his job in peril.

The timing for "The Pentaverate" debut couldn't be worse: it's a bloated Netflix original by an aging white male movie star that in no way justifies its ...

That's not enough to elevate the comedy — there are so many jokes and gags here that just don't work — but it's a positive sign, regardless. There's also a real attempt to "do better" — despite the juvenile, potty humor. By the time "The Pentaverate" episode 6 ended, I was a bit sad to see it go; in just about three hours of runtime, the comedy series had grown on me. There's a great mix of cheap and silly with vibrant and detailed throughout — although leaning more into the more artificial look might have helped amplify some of the comedy. It's a lot to handle, especially in the scenes where there are several versions of Myers acting with himself. The series is weird, over-the-top, and definitely cringeworthy — but it has moments of being clever, sweet, and honest.

Mike Myers is back with Netflix conspiracy comedy, The Pentaverate. Playing eight characters! The story delves into an ultra-secret society's weird ...

The pure soul in question is that of Ken Scarborough, which is the reason Reilly was given the mission to bring him to the Pentaverate. Reilly is heartbroken to discover she essentially brought Ken as a sacrifice and begs him not to do it. The remaining members of Pentaverate decide to destroy the group as it is not the positive force that it once was. Most storm out – good on you, Your Maj – but a few remain, and the bids start in the trillions. Soon Lansdowne takes his shot and throws himself out of the pit too, dragging Bruce along with him with one last cry of “but her e-mails”. Pentaverate member Australian media mogul Bruce Baldwin (who is definitely not inspired by Rupert Murdoch) is due to give a speech.

Mike Myers gets a little self-indulgent in his new Netflix series about global conspiracies. Read our review of The Pentaverate here.

Unfortunately, it ends up reinforcing the latter through well-meaning but surface-level platitudes about the need for more honest journalism in the face of clickbait propaganda and extremist messaging. Journalism Matters, It Seems: In the age of QAnon and post-Trump paranoia, conspiracy theories have become so normalized that even empirical truths are seen now as questionable. Meanwhile, aging Canadian journalist Ken Scarborough (also Myers) is being forced into retirement following a series of unsuccessful news stories.

Mike Myers' series The Pentaverate dropped on Netflix, but will there be a second season? Here's what we know.

From meta commentary about signing your life away to considering the upside of secret societies, The Pentaverate had it covered… But what lies ahead for the series? In particular, the season one finale means Lydia's character Reilly and Debi Mazar, who plays the smart Pentaverate assistant Patty, will have some work to do with their new roles in the new world order of the Septaverate (we'll get there). Myers has been known to bring aboard a host of famous friends that he has worked with in the past for roles, whether they be big or small. At the time of the show's release, there has been no confirmation about a season two. Is there be a second one in the making or was this it for the show?